ir,si^ 


^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


t 


1.0 


1.1 


b£|28 

■  30     ^^ 

m  m 


lU 

u 
u 


1*0 


125 


2.0 


1125  ni  1.4 


6" 


Hiotpgraphic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


^v 


^\ 


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\\ 


V 


'^ 


'^^ 

^.V' 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRKT 

WiUTIR,N.Y.  M5M 

(716)t72-4S03 


'^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquaa 


Tachnieal  and  Bibliographie  NotM/NotM  tachniquM  at  bibliographiquas 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  avallabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibiiographically  unlqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aignifieantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chaclcad  balow. 


D 


D 


D 


0 


D 


n 


Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


|~~1   Covara  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommag^a 

Covara  raatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurAa  at/ou  pailiculAa 


□   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 
La 


titra  da  couvartura  manqua 


|~~|   Colourad  mapa/ 


Cartas  gtographiquas  an  coulaur 

Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  biacit)/ 
Encra  da  couiau:^^  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 


□   Colourad  piatas  and/or  illuatratlona/ 
Planchas  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 


□   Bound  with  othar  matarial/ 
Rail*  avac  d'autras  documanta 


Tight  binding  may  cauaa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  intarior  margin/ 

La  re  iiure  sarrie  paut  causar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
diatortion  la  long  da  la  marga  intiriaura 

Blank  leavas  added  during  reatoration  may 
appaar  within  the  text.  Whenaver  possibia,  thesa 
have  baan  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  aa  paut  qua  cartainaa  pagas  bianchea  ajouttes 
iors  d'une  rastauration  apparaiaaant  dana  la  taxte, 
mais,  lorsqua  cala  Atait  possible,  cas  pagas  n'ont 
paa  Ati  filmAas. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Cottimantaires  supplAmentalres; 


toi 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm^  la  maillaur  axamplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  poasibie  da  sa  procurer.  Las  details 
da  cat  axemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibllographiqua,  qui  pauvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  pauvent  exiger  un9 
modification  dans  la  mAthoda  normale  de  f iimage 
aont  indiquAs  ci-dassous. 


n~|   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pagaa  da  coulaur 

Pagas  damagad/ 
Pagaa  andommagAas 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pagas  reataurtas  at/ou  palliculAes 


r~1   Pagas  damagad/ 

I — I   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


Th« 
pot 
ofi 
filn 


Ori 
ba< 
tha 
slo 
oth 
firs 
sio 
or 


Pagas  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6coior*es.  tachetAes  ou  piquAes 


□   Pages  detached/ 
Pages  dAtachies 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Qualit*  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  matarial/ 
Comprand  du  matAriel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  avallabia/ 
Saule  Edition  disponible 


Th« 
shfl 
Ti^ 
wh 

IMa 
diff 
ant{ 
beg 
rigr 
reqi 
mei 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  p<«ges  totalement  ou  partiailement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiiiet  d'errata.  une  peiure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmies  *  nouveau  de  fapon  * 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  itam  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


>/ 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


TIm  copy  filmMl  h&f  hat  b««n  raproduccd  thank* 
to  tho  gonorosity  of: 

Ubrary  of  th*  Public 
Arehivat  of  Canada 


L'axamplaifa  f  Hmi  f  ut  raproduH  grica  i  la 
g4n4roatti  da: 

La  bibliothAqua  daa  Archivaa 
publiquas  du  Canada 


Tha  imaga*  appaaring  hara  ara  the  baat  qualtty 
posaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  iagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  Icaaping  wfth  tha 
filming  contract  apacificatlona. 


Original  copia*  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
•ion,  or  th*  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copia*  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  iilustratad  impraa* 
•ion,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 


Laa  imagaa  suivantaa  ont  4t4  raproduitas  avac  la 
plua  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  I'axamplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  condKlons  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axamplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  •n 
papiar  aat  imprimte  aont  filmia  an  comman9ant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  salt  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainto 
d'imprassion  ou  d'liiustration,  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplairas 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'liiustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
darnlAra  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha.  salon  la 
caa:  la  symbols  -^  signifia  "A  8UIVRE".  la 
symbols  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 


IMaps,  platas,  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  ba 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  tcp  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  it  des  taux  da  rMuction  diffArants. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  soul  clichA,  11  est  film*  A  partir 
da  i'angie  aupAriaur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  has,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaira.  Las  diagrammea  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

BOSTON   MERCHANT 


OF 


1745: 


OB, 

INCIDENTS   IN   THE  LIFE   OP 

JAMES  GIBSON, 

A  GENTLEMAN  TOLUNTEBB  AT  THE  EXPEDITION  TO  LOUISBU&G  ; 

WITH    A 

JOURNAL    OF     THAT    SIEGE,    NEVFR  BETORE   PUB- 
LISHED  IN    THIS  COUNTRY. 

BT    ONE    OF    BIS    DESCENDANTS. 


BOSTON : 
REDDING   AND   COMPANY. 

1847. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1847, 
by  Redding  &  Co.,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Dis* 
trict  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Boston : 

Frinted  by  8.  X.  Dickinson  &  Co. 

53  Washington  Street. 


6A59/ 


/■ 


DEDICATION. 


TO    THB 

conoreoatioks 

worshipping      in 

"king's  chapel"  and  the  "old 

south,"  also    to    the    young    ladies     op 

THE  "beacon  HILL    SEMINARY,"    AND 
THE    CITIZENS    OP    BOSTON   GEN- 
ERALLY,    IS     THIS      LITTLE  ^ 
WORK   RESPECTFULLY 
INSCRIBED. 


•,-.  r. 


^\ 


0  •:; 


or 


CiijJA 


-■;,  •    (';   r  •! 


iW\ 


Jl'  I  f 


■0- 


f 


INTRODUCTION. 


1.  Usually  when  a  book  is  dedi' 
ited,  it  is  done  "  by  permission ;"  but 

the  present  case,  the  author  justifies 
imself  in  doing  on  his  own  respon- 
)ility  that  which  no  one  would  feel 
ithorized  to  permit  or  prohibit 

2.  It  will  doubtless  be  enough  for 
\e  worshipers  at  King's  Chapel  ta 

low  that  the  hero  of  our  story,  in 
►ncert  with  his  friend  Gov.  Shirley^ 
^ho  laid  the  corner-stone  of  that  edi- 
;e,  was  quite  as  much  attached  to 
\e  church  as  he  was  to  the  crown ;: 
^at  this  brought  him  and  his  amiable 
id  intelligent  lady  into  active  mem* 


bership  with  the  only  "Established 
Church"  then  existing  in  the  town 
of  Boston ;  and  that  his  widow  sleeps 
in  the  "  old  church-yard  "  contiguous 
to  the  chapel. 

3.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  to  thej 
writer,  that,  while  he  succeeds  in  find- 
ing the  graves  of  his  progenitors,  he 
can  find  so  little  of  their  history.  It 
is  from  our  grandmother,  the  only 
child  of  Gibson,  that  we  have  the 
manner  of  his  death.  She  lived  to  a 
great  age.  The  writer  has  in  his  pos- 
session a  letter  that  she  wrote  in  hei 
eightieth  year,  in  which  she  says  that 
there  is  a  family  in  Boston  by  the 
name  of  Perkins,  who  knows  all 
about  her  claims  in  England,  refer- 
ring to  property  which  Parliament 
awarded  to  her  father  for  services  per- 
formed at  the  capture  of  Louisburg 


'his  letter  was  dated  in  1816.     It 

loes  not  mention  the  given  name  of 

^erkins.     Tradition  in  our  family  ash 

ligns  them  to  the  congregation  wor- 

(hipping  in  the  "  Old  South  Church." 

'hat  there  was  a  family  in  Boston  who 

snderly  cherished  the  orphan  of  "  Bea- 

(on  Hill  mansion  house,"=i^  ever  after 

le  went  into  the  family  of  Rev.  Mr. 

files  of  Braintree,  we  have  still  further 

(vidence.     If  the  descendants  of  such 

family  could  be  found,  perhi^  the 

Titer,  who  is  on  a  kind  of  pllgrim- 

je  upon  the  back  track  of  his  ances- 

)rs,  might    meet  with    some    facts 

'^hich    may  be    quite  gratifying  to 

lis  antiquarian  curiosity  —  which  he 

*  Near  the  site  of  this  mansion  house  the  Rev. 
Tubbard  Winslow  has  located  the  "  Beacon 
[ill  Seminary,"  for  young  ladies. 


i^- 


8 


deems  laudable,  since  he  is  almost 
without  a  relative  in  New  England, 
belonging  either  to  paternal  or  mater- 
nal side,  and  the  only  male  descend- 
ant of  Gibson's  orphan  daughter  that 
he  knows  to  be  living  in  the  United 
States. 

4.  It  may  appear  somewhat  singu- 
lar, that  the  writer  should  have  so  lit- 
tle information  respecting  his  imme- 
diate ancestors,  living  only  one  or 
two  generations  back ;  but  the  orphan 
daughter  of  Gibson  dying  while  he 
was  but  a  boy,  and  his  mother  also 
when  he  was  quite  young,  and  hav- 
ing no  accessible  relatives  who  can 
afford  him  any  aid  in  this  behalf,  he  is 
indulging  the  hope,  that,  by  the  cir- 
culation of  this  little  book,  he  will 
fall  in  with  some  point  of  interest  yet 
undiscovered.  ,    . 


IS  imme- 


4 


5.  If  he  should  not  be  able  to  re- 
|cover  any  farther  information  in  this 
jountry,  he  does  not  doubt  that  the 
[enerous  citizens  of  Boston  will  be 
[ratified  to  purchase  this  book  in  such 
numbers  as  to  enable  him  to  seek 
imong  the  descendants  of  the  "an- 
iient  and  honorable  family  of  Gib- 
jons  "  of  the  old  world  the  more  com- 
)lete  story  of  his  ancestors. 

After  looking    through   the   most 
Important  libraries  in  New  England, 
Ihe  writer  became   satisfied  that  he 
lad  probably  the  only  copy  of  this 

Journal  of  the  Siege"  in  America, 

^hich  is  the  identical  one  that  Mr. 

ribson  gave  to  his  daughter  on  his 
teturnfrom  England.  Presuming  that 
[he  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 

light  deem  the  "Journal"  worthy  of 

Iheir  consideration,  it  was  submitted 
2 


10 


to  the  Hon.  F.  C.  Gray,  Chairman  of 
the  Publishing  Committee,  who  re- 
turned it  with  a  note  from  which  we 
make  the  following  extract : 


i  . 


"  Dear  Sir, — The  siege  of  Louis- 
burg  is  an  object  of  so  much  impor- 
tance in  our  provincial  history,  that 
an  authentic  journal  kept  by  an  officer 
engaged  in  that  expedition  cannot 
be  without  interest  to  our  antiqua- 
rians," &c.  ,  ,' 


Vr'^)')^f^    i>^■■■:!•^'»^'!:l     fc':   t:i;Jtk>f'^;^f;iA:    'uff 


7/    -  b 


•} 


rU   I 


■-{-••>    .J..- 


■■\   I (■ 


■rh   n   ^\v:]'r-^"\r'--<u^'a  ihiih 


4i 


BOSTON   MERCHANT 

OF    1745. 


X) 

James  Gibson  was  born  in  London 
about  the  year  1700,  and  belonged,  so 
says  the  inscription  on  his  coat  of 
arms,  "  to  the  ancient  and  honorable 
family  of  Gibson,  of  Cumberland, 
Essex,  and  London,"  and  relative  of 
Edward  Gibson,  the  eminent  anti- 
quarian, and  Bishop  of  London. 

When  a  young  man,  he  held  a 
commission  in  the  royal  army,  which 
was  ordered  to  the  island  of  Barba- 
does.  Here  he  remained  sonie  time, 
and  married  a  young  and  wealthy 
widow,  in  the  month  of  October, 
1730.  The  original  of  the  following 
certificate  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
writer :  — 

"These 
it    may    concern,    that     Mr.    James 


are 


to   certify  to  whom 


12 


Gibson  and  Mrs.  Thomazine  Barton, 
widow,  of  this  parish,  were  joined  to- 
gether in  the  holy  state  of  matrimony, 
according  to  the  canons  of  the  Church 
of  England,  on  the  30th  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1730,  by  me, 

Thomas  Warren,  Curate." 
"Barbadoes,  Parish  of  St.  Michael." 


Ji^Wf -fJ 


t)L       »  A  ; 


Through  this  connection,  James 
Gibson  became  possessor  of  a  large 
plantation  in  the  island  of  Jamaica. 
After  a  few  years,  he  retired  from  his 
situation  in  the  army,  and  remained 
in  the  West  Indies.  itutcri 

^,>,  Having  often  heard  of  the  new 
colonies,  and  becoming  acquainted 
with  merchants  who  visited  the  islands 
for  the  purpose  of  trading,  he  was  in- 
duced to  come  to  New  England  with 
his  lady ;  and,  being  pleased  with  the 
thriving  appearanoft  of  the  northern 
colonies,  he  brought  his  wealth  and 
family  to  Boston,  and  became  an  ex- 
tensive trader  between  that  place  and 


13 


the  islands  of  Barbadoes  and  Ja- 
inaica. 

Mr.  Gibson  was  also  a  stockholder 
in  the  enterprise  of  building  Long 
Wharf,  and  inhabited  one  of  the  finest 
buildings  then  to  be  seen  on  Beacon 
Hill.^  He  had  but  one  child,  a  daugh- 
ter. 

In  the  year  1 744,  war  was  declared 
between  France  and  Great  Britain. 
George  11.  was  upon  the  throne,  and 
Sir  William  Shirley,  then  governor  of 
Massachusetts.  f 

The  news  reached  Cape  Breton,  by 
a  fast-sailing  packet,  three  weeks  be- 
fore it  was  received  in  Boston ;  and 
this  afforded  the  French  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity of  making  incursions  into  the 


*  It  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  Probate 
records,  at  Boston,  that  the  administrator  had.  two 
different  times  of  rendering  an  invoice  of  Gib- 
son's estate.  In  one  of  them  the  building  referred 
to  is  called  "  the  mansion  house  on  Beacon  Hill, 
Boston."  Among  other  articles,  "  a  brass  sword 
and  belt,  and  a  silver  snuff-box,"  are  mentioned. 


^ 


I 


14 


neighboring  province  of  Nova  Scotia. 
In  this  manner,  Canso,  a  small  fishing 
town,  was  taken  by  surprise  ;  and  the 
inhabitants,  and  a  large  number  of 
vessels  were  captured,  and  taken  to 
Louisburg,  as  prisoners  of  war. 

These  early  attacks  awakened  the 
English  colonies  to  their  danger ;  and 
it  soon  became  apparent,  that  Nova 
Scotia,  and  perhaps  all  the  English 
settlements  in  North  America,  de- 
pended on  the  conquest  of  Louisburg, 
the  strong  fortress  and  capital  of  Cape 
Breton. 

Some  of  the  colonists,  however,  in 
defending  the  town  of  Anapolis,  in  a 
second  incursion  from  the  French, 
obtained  some  prisoners,  whom  they 
exchanged  for  the  inhabitants  of  Can- 
so,  taken  in  the  spring,  and  who 
brought  an  accurate  account  of  the 
strength  of  the  fortifications  of  Louis- 
burg, to  Boston. 

From  this  account,  Sir  William 
Shirley,   governor  of  Massachusetts, 


15 


3otia. 
hing 
d  the 
r  of 
n  to 


h 


conceived  the  idea  of  taking  the  city 
by  surprise,  before  any  farther  aid 
could  be  obtained  from  France.  In 
this  he  was  encouraged,  particularly 
by  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
cod  fisheries  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire;  as  this  branch  of 
trade  must  be  utterly  suspended,  while 
Louisburg  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  French. 

To  obtain  the  opinion  of  the  Grene- 
ral  Court,  Sir  William,  early  in  Janu- 
ary, requested  its  members  to  bind 
themselves,  under  oath  of  secresy,  to 
receive  from  him  an  important  com- 
munication. This  was  complied  with, 
and  he  proposed  his  plan  of  attacking 
Louisburg,  and  asked  their  consent. 
This  was  kept  a  secret  for  a  number 
of  days  from  the  public.  At  last  it 
was  discovered  by  an  honest  deacon, 
whose  whole  soul  was  so  filled  with 
the  plan  of  the  expedition,  that  he  in- 
advertently made  mention  of  it  at  his 
family  devotions,  by  praying  for  its 


I 
f 


■hi 


success.  The  boldness  of  the  propo- 
sal astonished  every  one.  It  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee,  who  reported 
against  it.  This  report,  after  some 
debate,  was  accepted  by  a  considera- 
ble majority,  and  it  was  supposed  that 
the  subject  was  put  to  rest.  The 
governor,  however,  was  not  thus  to  be 
defeated :  he  was  a  man  of  persever- 
ance as  well  as  decision.  James 
Gibson  he  knew  to  be  a  man  of 
weighty  character,  as  well  as  weighty 
purse. 

"  After  a  few  days,"  says  Mr.  Gib- 
son, "  I  saw  the  governor  walking 
slowly  down  King  Stieet,  with  his 
head  bent  down,  as  if  in  deep  study. 
He  entered  my  counting-room,  and 
abruptly  said,  *  Gibson,  do  you  feel 
like  giving  up  the  expedition  to  Louis- 
burg  V  *  I  wish  the  vote  might  be 
reconsidered,'  was  my  reply  ;  *  for  un- 
less the  colonies  make  a  bold  strike, 
we  may  all  suffer  the  same  fate  of 
Canso  and  Anapolis.'     j.      !     , 


17 


t(  ( 


You  are  the  very  man  I  need/ 
said  the  governor,  springing  from  his 
chair.  '  I  have  been  thinking,  if  a  pe- 
tition were  drawn  up  and  signed  by 
the  merchants  of  Boston,  asking  a 
reconsideration  of  the  whole  matter, 
the  result  would  be  successful.' " 

Before  he  left,  Sir  William  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  the  petition  drawn 
up  and  signed  by  one  bold  man,  and 
before  night  it  was  ready  for  presenta- 
tion. 

The  next  day  it  was  read  in  the 
General  Court,  and  another  commit- 
tee voted  a  reconsideration.  This 
report  was  argued  two  whole  days ; 
during  which  time,  its  advocates  pre- 
sented the  prospect  of  success,  and  the 
advantages  Massachusetts  would  re- 
ceive from  it,  the  importance  of  im- 
mediate action,  and  the  certainty  that 
they  would  be  amply  remunerated  by 
Parliament,  when  it  was  known  to 
his  Majesty  what  proof  of  loyalty  his 
American  subjects  had  given. 


f 


18 


On  tire  other  side,  it  was  argued 
with  much  greater  plausibility,  that 
the  scheme  was  chimerical,  that  inex- 
perienced militia  could  never  reduce 
80  impregnable  a  fortress,  that  by  rea- 
son of  fogs  and  ice  the  island  could 
not  be  approached  at  that  season  of 
the  year,  that  they  should  incur  the 
displeasure  of  Parliament  by  such  a 
rash  undertaking,  that  the  province 
was  exhausted  by  previous  cam- 
paigns, and  if  this  were  unsuccessful, 
it  would  prove  its  utter  ruin.  The 
question  was  taken  on  the  26th  of 
January,  and  the  expedition  was  voted 
by  a  majority  of  a  single  vote  ;  sever- 
al members  who  were  known  to  be 
opposed,  being  absent.  No  sooner, 
however,  was  this  done  than  a  degree 
of  unanimity  upon  the  subject  gene- 
rally prevailed;  and  those  who  had 
previously  opposed  it,  like  true  patriots, 
came  forward,  and  gave  their  aid  in 
carrying  it  into  effect.  Never  were  a 
people    more   enthusiastic,   or  enter- 


\ 


tainel 

the 

time. 

toP^ 
requ| 

g\ 

lam? 

forc( 

equi] 

by  t 

con\ 

also 

Briti 

ques 

whi 
tute 

of 

forr 

fer€ 

she 

ble 

wii 

for 

is 


19 


re  a 
iter- 


tained  stronger  hopes  of  success,  than 
the  people  of  Massachusetts  at  that 
time.  Letters  were  immediately  sent 
to  Pennsylvania  and  other  colonies, 
requesting  their  assistance. 

Governor  Shirley  soon  made  proc- 
lamation for  raising  the  necessary 
forces ;  and  measures  were  taken  for 
equipping  the  small  fleet,  then  owned 
by  the  province,  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  the  troops.  The  governor 
also  sent  to  the  commander  of  the 
British  fleet  at  the  West  Indies,  re- 
questing aid.  J>  ir  r'  ./'  « 

The  island  of  Cape  Breton,  on 
which  Louisburg  is  situated,  consti- 
tutes at  present  a  part  of  the  Province 
of  Nova  Scotia.  It  is  of  triangular 
form,  and  eighty  leagues  in  circum- 
ference. Its  western  and  northern 
shores  are  steep,  rocky,  and  inaccessi- 
ble ;  while  its  south-eastern  is  indented 
with  beautiful  bays  and  harbors,  safe 
for  ships  of  the  largest  size.  Its  soil 
is  barren,  and  a  large  portion  of  the 


20 


year  the  island  is  either  enveloped  in 
fog,  or  locked  up  with  snow  and  ice. 
Its  entire  population,  at  the  present 
time,  does  not  exceed  30,000,  most  of 
whom  are  engaged  in  the  fisheries, 
and  in  the  coal  and  lumber  trades. 

Louisburg  has  frequently  been  call- 
ed the  **  Dunkirk  of  America."  For 
a  description  of  it,  I  use  the  words  of 
Dr.  Belknan:  —  "It  was  two  miles 
and  a  half  in  circumference,  fortified 
in  every  accessible  point,  with  a  ram- 
part of  stone,  from  thirty  to  thirty-six 
►feet  high,  and  a  ditch  eighty  feet  wide. 
A  space  of  two  hundred  yards  was 
left  without  a  rampart,  on  the  side 
next  the  sea,  and  enclosed  by  a  sim- 
ple dike  and  pickets.  The  sea  was 
so  narrow  at  this  place,  that  it  made 
only  a  narrow  channel,  inaccessible, 
from  its  numerous  reefs,  to  any  ship- 
ping whatever.  On  an  island,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  harbor,  which  was 
only  four  hundred  yards  wide,  was  a 
battery  of  thirty  cannon ;  and  at  the 


botti 
to  t) 
royal 
two. 
On 
battel 
the  11 
mags 

in  8( 

and 

and  I 

was 

brid^ 

culai 

yeat 
finis 
thar 

in  I 
shif 
and 
of=^ 
col 
fav 


21 


>ppd  in 
nd  ice. 
present 
Host  of 
jheries, 
ies. 
n  call. 

For 
)rds  of 

miles 
rtified 

ram- 
rty-six 
wide. 
3  was 

side 

sim- 

was 
nade 
iibJe, 
ship. 

the 
was 
as  a 

the 


I 


bottom  of  the  harbor,  directly  opposite 
to  the  entrance,  was  the  ground,  or 
royal  battery,  of  twenty-eight,  forty- 
two,  and  eighteen  pound  cannon. 
On  a  high  cliff,  opposite  the  island 
battery,  stood  the  lighthouse ;  and  at 
the  north-east  part  of  the  harbor  was  a 
magazine  for  naval  stores.   •  '» 

"  The  town  was  regularly  laid  out 
in  squares.  The  streets  were  broad, 
and  the  houses  mostly  built  of  wood 
and  stone.  The  entrance  to  the  town 
was  at  the  west  gate,  over  a  draw- 
bridge, which  was  protected  by  a  cir- 
cular battery  of  cannon. 

"  These  works  had  been  twenty-five 
years  in  building,  and,  though  not 
finished,  had  cost  France  not  less 
than  thirty  millions  of  livres.  It  was 
in  peace  a  safe  retreat  for  the  French 
ships  bound  homeward  from  the  East 
and  West  Indies ;  and  in  war,  a  source 
of  distress  to  the  northern  PJnglish 
colonies ;  its  situation  being  extremely 
favorable  for  privateers  to  seize  their 


22 


fishing  vessels,  and  interrupt  their 
coasting  and  foreign  trade ;  for  which 
reasons,  the  reduction  of  it  is  said  to 
have  been  as  desirable  an  object  as 
that  of  Carthage  ever  was  to  the  Ro- 
mans." • 

Such  was  the  place  that  the  people 
of  New  England  proposed  to  take  by 
surprise  in  1745.  It  was,  perhaps,  as 
impregnable  as  nature  and  art  could 
make  it,  and  was  probably  considered 
as  safe  by  France  then,  as  Gibraltar 
is  by  the  English  at  the  present  day. 
Its  reduction  was  suggested  and  ac- 
complished by  a  train  of  circumstan- 
ces as  remarkable  as  the  event  was 
glorious.  It  was  very  properly  said 
by  a  writer  of  the  day,  that  "if,  in  this 
expedition,  any  one  circumstance  had 
taken  a  wrong  turn  on  the  French 
side,  it  must  have  miscarried.'* 

In  all  this  preparation,  James  Gib- 
son was  not  an  idle  spectator.  See- 
ing the  difficulty  of  raising  volunteers 
from  the  poor  and  hard-working  men 


of  the 
teer. 

inissio 
he  act 
hundr 
regula 
Thi 
in  the 

appoii 
greate 
was  tl 
in-chi 
some 
diers, 
provii 
a  jeal 
at  ler 
ofKi 
and 
knov 
setts 
B( 
Pepi 
Wh 
thro 


23 


Iheir 
vhich 
id  to 
ct  as 

Ro- 


of the  colony,  he  also  became  a  volun- 
teer. Already  possessing  the  com- 
mission of  captain  of  the  royal  army, 
he  actually  hired  a  company  of  three 
hundred  men,  whose  wages  he  paid 
regularly  from  his  own  property. 

Thus  four  thousand  men  were  raised 
in  the  several  colonies.  The  time  was 
appointed  for  the  fleet  to  sail.  The 
greatest  difficulty  to  be  surmounted 
was  the  appointment  of  a  commander- 
in-chief.  This  was  attended  with 
some  difficulty,  as  they  were  raw  sol- 
diers, taken  from  all  the  New  England 
provinces,  and  feeling  in  some  degree 
a  jealousy  of  each  other.  The  choice 
at  length  fell  upon  William  Pepperell, 
of  Kittery,  then  a  colonel  of  the  militia, 
and  a  merchant  of  good  reputation, 
known  extensively  both  in  Massachu- 
setts and  New  Hampshire.     ,.  ..*    r.,  :.,. 

Before  accepting  the  appointment, 
Pepperell  consulted  the  famousGeorge 
Whitfield,  who  was  then  travelling 
through  New  England,  upon  its  expe- 


m 


■It  i' ' 


24 


diency.  Whitfield  told  him  he  did 
not  think  the  situation  very  promising ; 
that  the  eyes  of  all  would  be  upon 
him ;  that,  if  it  should  not  succeed, 
the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  slain 
would  reproach  him ;  and  if  it  should 
succeed,  many  would  regard  him  with 
envy,  and  endeavor  to  eclipse  his 
glory — that  he  ought  therefore  to  go, 
with  a  single  eye,  and  then  he  would 
find  his  strength  proportioned  to  his 
necessity."  After  some  time  he 
gave  a  motto  for  the  flag,  which  was 
"  Nil  desperandum,  Christo  duce," 
thereby  giving  the  expedition  an  air 
of  a  crusade.  It  is  said  that  a  large 
number  of  the  followers  of  Whitfield 
enlisted ;  and  as  a  proof  of  the  reli- 
gious feeling  by  which  they  were  ac-'- 
tuated,  one  of  them,  a  clergyman,  car- 
ried upon  his  shoulder  a  hatchet  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  images 
in  the  Frent  h  churches. 

Few  men  could  leave  their  families 
under  more  trying  circumstances  than 


25 


De  did 

ising ; 

upon 

cceed, 

slain 

hould 
n  with 
se   his 

logo, 
would 
to  his 

e  he 
h  was 
duce," 
an  air 

large 
itfield 
e  reli- 
re  ac-*- 
n,  car- 
et for 
nages 

nilies 
?  than 


James  Gibson.  Without  a  single 
relative  in  North  America,  nearer 
than  the  West  Indies,  his  wife  was 
to  endure  alone  the  suspense  of  this 
hazardous  and  doubtful  expedition, 
and  remain  behind  with  her  little 
daughter  in  Boston.  But,  in  the  midst 
of  present  trial  or  future  solicitude, 
the  firm  hearts  of  the  colonists  did 
not  quail.  Under  these  circumstances, 
on  the  25th  of  March,  Mr.  Gibson 
took  leave  of  his  family,  of  his  tender 
and  confiding  wife  and  child,  and 
joined  'the  troops  which  on  that  day 
left  Boston  for  the  island  of  Nan- 
tucket, the  rallying  point  of  the  expe- 
dition. 

/  The  fleet  sailed  from  Nantucket 
^with  4,300  men,  4,000  being  furnished 
•by  the  colonies,  and  300  by  Mr.  Gib- 
son. After  a  prosperous  voyage,  it 
appeared  in  view  of  the  little  town  of 
Canso.  As  it  was  yet  in  the  early 
spring,  the  ice  rendered  the  bay  im- 
passable,  and   they   were    thus   pre- 

3 


26 


vented  from  landing  at  the  intended 
point.  In  this  hour  of  perplexity, 
Commodore  Warren,  the  commander 
of  the  British  troops  at  the  West  In- 
dies, unexpectedly  arrived  with  a 
man-of-war,  to  their  assistance.  This 
aid  inspired  the  army  with  new  cour- 
age, and  elated  them  with  a  prospect 
of  success.  On  the  29th  of  April,  the 
ice  having  broken  up,  the  fleet  sailed 
for  Louisburg,  a  distance  of  about 
sixty  miles,  where  they  arrived  the 
next  morning. 

This  was  the  first  notice  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Louisburg  of  the  intend- 
ed invasion. 

An  alarm  was  instantly  given,  and 
our  fleet  was  ushered  into  the  bay  by 
a  ringing  of  bells  and  discharge  of 
cannon.  A  detachment  of  150  men 
were  sent  to  oppose  their  landing, 
but  were  soon  repulsed  by  the  New 
Englanders,  who  without  further  mo- 
lestation landed  their  troops  and  mili- 


1 


27 


tary  stores,  about  four  miles  below 
the  city. 

On  the  following  night,  two  mer- 
chants from  the  Colonies  —  James 
Gibson  and  Captain  Vaughan,  with 
400  men,  marched  through  the  woods 
and  round  the  hills,  to  the  northeast- 
ern part  of  the  harbor,  and  burned 
many  large  warehouses  containing  a 
quantity  of  wine  and  brandy,  making 
a^  fine  beacon  light. 

This  siege  continued  forty-eight 
days,  and  was  carried  on  by  undis- 
ciplined colonists  against  a  well- 
trained  army,  and  a  fortification 
stronger  than  almost  any  in  the 
world. 

Of  the  events  of  this  siege,  in 
which  our  army  gained  a  glorious 
triumph,  Mr.  Gibson  kept  a  regular 
Journal,  which  was  published  after- 
ward at  London,  and  a  copy  pre- 
sented to  King  George.  A  notice  of 
this  Journal  appeared  in  a  contem- 
porary number  of  the  "  Gentleman's 


28 


Magazine,"^*  a  periodical  which  has 
been  continued  for  upward  of  200 
years. 

This  Journal  has  never  been  re- 
printed in  America.  After  search- 
ing through  the  principal  libraries  of 
New  England,  we  are  certain  that 
few  persons  have  ever  seen  it  in  this 
country. 

We  have  learned  of  late  that  soci- 
eties are  seeking  to  obtain  more  ex- 
tended information  respecting  this 
expedition,  and  therefore  give  this 
Journal  entire  to  our  readers. 

*  The  "  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  is  regarded 
as  the  greatest  periodical  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Copies  of  it,  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 
Several  notices  of  Gibson  and  his  Journal  are 
to  be  found  in  this  work.  The  one  alluded  to 
above  is  in  the  15th  volume,  page  649. 

By  calling  on  S.  G.  Drake,  Esq.,  the  indefati- 
gable proprietor  of  the  Antiquarian  Bookstore 
on  Cornhill,  the  reader  can  see  the  original  copy 
of  the  following  Journal. 


TI 


su 


J 


JOURNAL 


or  TUB 


LATE    SIEGE, 


BT    TUS 


TROOPS  FROM  NORTH  AMERICA. 

AGAINST 

THE  FRENCH  AT  CAPE  BRETON,  THE  CITY  OF 

LOUISBURG,  AND  THE  TERRITORIES 

THEREUNTO  BELONGING. 

SURRENDERED   TO   THE   ENGLISH,   ON    THE  17tH 

OP  JUNE,    1745,   AFTER   A   SIEGE   OF 

FORTY-EIGHT    DAYS. 

BY   JAMES    GIBSON, 

GENTLEMAN  VOLUNTEER  AT  THE  ABOVE  SIEGE, 


14 

I: 


LONDON  : 

PRINTED     FOR     J.     NEWBURY,     AT    THE    BIBLE     AND     SUN, 
IN     ST.    PAUL'S     CnURCH-VARD. 

M  D  CC  XLV. 


To  i 
lal 
Ti 

My 

] 

pre 
kef 
the 
coi 
snr 
vie 
ble 
coi 
em 
sei 
wl 
ill 

yo 

cu 


DEDICATION 


To  the  Commissioned  Officers  of  the  Troops  at  the 
late  Siege  against  the  City  oj  Louishurg^  and  the 
Territories  thereunto  belonging  in  North  America. 

My  D£Ar  Brethren  and  FEiyLOw  Soldiers, 

Pursuant  to  your  request,  I  here 
present  you  with  a  Journal  which  I 
kept  whilst  the  siege  was  laid  against 
the  city  above  mentioned.  If  it  should 
contribute  in  the  least  to  your  plea- 
sure in  the  recollection  of  that  signal 
victory  which  you  obtained,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  through  your  great 
courage  and  good  conduct,  over  your 
enemies  at  Cape  Breton,  or  be  of 
service  to  you  in  any  other  respect 
whatever,  I  shall  not  think  my  labor 
ill  bestowed. 

Gentlemen,  as  you  voluntarily  left 
your  families,  your  fortunes,  your  oc- 
cupations, and  whatever  else  you  held 


m 


32 


i 


most  dear,  to  enter  the  field  in  the 
service  of  your  country  against  the 
strong  holds  of  a  potent  enemy ; 
against  a  well-walled  and  well-gar- 
risoned city ;  against  strong  batteries, 
in  short,  and  large  cannons,  I  heartily 
congratulate  you  on  your  good  suc- 
cess, and  doubt  not  but  your  heroic 
achievements  will  be  transmitted  down 
with  honor  to  latest  posterity. 

In  regard  to  the  poor  soldiers,  who 
left  their  families  and  their  respective 
callings  for  no  other  consideration 
than  fourteen  shillings  sterling  per 
month,  besides  the  prospect  of  a  little 
plunder,  as  occasion  offered,  of  which 
they  were  disappointed,  —  I  hope  they 
will  be  taken  care  of,  and  meet  with 
a  reward  in  some  measure  propor- 
tioned to  their  service  and  their  merit ; 
since  their  disappointment  was  wholly 
owing  (as  you  are  sensible)  to  our 
generous  treatment  of  the  enemy, 
even  when  we  had  secured  our  con- 
quest ;  for,  by  the  terms  of  capitula- 


tion. 


S8 


tion,  the  French  were  not  only  al- 
lowed to  carry  off  all  their  effects 
without  the  least  molestation,  but 
were  transported  at  our  expense  to 
Old  France,  insomuch  that  the  sol- 
diers, as  I  before  hinted,  had  no  op- 
portunity of  making  any  advantage 
of  their  good  success,  which  other- 
wise they  might  have  considerably 
improved. 

The  place,  gentlemen,  which  we 
have  thus  happily  made  our  own, 
may  with  propriety  be  called  the  key 
of  Canada  and  North  America.  The 
island  is  near  a  hundred  miles  long; 
and  has  several  fine  harbors  in  it,  very 
commodious  for  the  fishery,  whereof 
that  at  Louisburg  is  the  principal. 
The  city  is  not  only  well  walled,  but, 
as  it  has  several  wide  trenches  and 
flankers,  it  may  properly  be  said  to 
be  completely  garrisoned.  There  is 
likewise  a  very  grand  battery,  directly 
opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
the    ordnance    whereof    consists    of 


34 


•11  I 


above  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  all  forty- 
two  pounders. 

The  Island  Battery,  moreover, 
which  is  planted  at  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor,  is  of  equal  strength  and  force. 

Opposite  to  the  Island  Battery  there 
is  also  a  very  fine  and  commodious 
light-house,  as  well  as  a  noble  harbor 
for  the  largest  ships. 

Near  the  shore  and  grand  banks, 
which  are  about  twenty  leagues*  dis- 
tance, there  are  fish  in  abundance. 
As  to  the  climate,  it  is  exceeding  fine 
for  curing  fish,  and  rendering  them  fit 
for  a  foreign  market.  Here  are  mack- 
erel and  herrings  in  plenty,  both  fat 
and  large,  for  baits. 

The  land  here  produces  very  good 
wheat,  rye,  and  barley ;  and  the  mead- 
ows, the  best  of  grass.  Besides  these 
commodities,  here  are  fine  beach 
wood  and  flake  for  the  mutual  bene- 
fit of  the  industrious  fisherman  and 
the  farmer. 

This  port  commands  not  only  Cape 


Sable 
land,  I 
and,  t 
a  safe 
fishery 

I  ha 
gentle  I 
island 
tian  ]\ 
of  mc 
mence 
made 
been 
As   tc 
soone 
Bosto 
ernnu 
same 
hund 

An 
Majei 
regirr 
does, 
I  vol 
tion, 


forly- 

jover, 

)f  the 

force. 

there 

►dious 

I  arbor 

)anks, 
s*  dis- 
jance. 
g  fine 
em  fit 
mack- 
>th  fat 

good 
Tiead- 
!  these 
beach 
bene- 
1  and 

Cape 


35 


Sable  Shore,  Canco,  and  Newfound- 
land, but  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
and,  by  consequence,  Canada.  It  is 
a  safeguard  likewise  to  the  whole 
fishery,  as  well  as  to  foreign  vessels. 

I  have  been  infornned  by  a  French 
gentleman,  that  the  settlement  of  the 
island  of  Gaspey  cost  his  Most  Chris- 
tian Majesty  nine  million  and  a  half 
of  money ;  and,  since  the  war  com- 
menced, the  repairs  that  have  been 
made  to  all  the  several  batteries  have 
been  attended  with  great  expense. 
As  to  my  own  particular  part,  no 
sooner  was  the  expedition  proposed  at 
Boston  in  New  England  by  the  gov- 
ernn^ont,  but  I  instantly  promoted  the 
same ;  and  through  my  means  some 
hundreds  entered  into  the  service. 

And  as  I  had  the  honor  to  bear  his 
Majesty's    commission   in  the   royal 
f  regiment   of  foot   guards   in    Barba- 
oes,  by  virtue    of   that  commission 
voluntarily  engaged  in  this  expedi- 
Lon,  without  the  least  pay  or  allow- 


=1, 


ml 


m 


tin 


l'\ 


36 


ance  for  my  service  or  provision 
during  the  whole  siege.  And  no 
sooner  was  it  over,  but  I  assisted  in 
the  transportation  of  the  French  in- 
habitants to  Old  France;  having 
passed  my  word  to  proceed  in  a 
transport  both  to  France  and  Eng- 
land. Give  me  leave  here  to  remind 
you  of  my  readiness  to  serve  this  ex- 
pedition in  all  respects.  You  remem- 
ber, I  doubt  not,  the  tedious  marches 
which  I  made  after  the  enemy,  and 
the  imminent  danger  I  was  in  at  the 
north-east  harbor,  which  is  about  ten 
miles  from  the  grand  battery,  where, 
with  four  men  only,  I  was  loading  a 
schooner  with  plunder.  Whilst  we 
were  busy  in  the  house  where  our 
cargo  lay,  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
forty  French  and  Indians,  with  a 
shout,  fired  a  volley  against  it;  where- 
upon two  of  the  men  jumped  out  of 
the  window,  and  were  shot  dead, 
even  after  they  had  cried  out  quarter. 
After  this,  though  the  French  and  In- 


dians ( 
men  ai 
ourseb 
covere 
withdr 
the  gri 
fatigue 
a  thicl^ 
swamf 
road,  i 
God  b 
the  gr£ 
peated 
on  ace 
which 
miraci 

I  h 
thoug 
one  ot 
likewi 

At 

men, 
guns 
King' 


37 


ovision 
nd    no 
sted  in 
nch  in- 
having 
i   in    a 
d  Eng- 
remind 
this  ex- 
remem- 
m  arches 
rny,  and 
In  at  the 
bout  ten 
,  where, 
ading  a 
iiilst  we 
I  ere  our 
[red  and 
with    a 
;  where- 
l  out  of 
>t  dead, 
quarter, 
and  In- 


dians entered  the  house,  the  two  other 
men  and  myself  so  happily  concealed 
ourselves  as  that  we  were  not  dis- 
covered. Some  short  time  after,  they 
withdrew,  and  we  made  our  escape  to 
the  grand  battery,  though  with  great 
fatigue ;  for  we  were  forced  to  take  to 
a  thick  wood,  and  run  through  great 
swamps,  not  daring  to  appear  in  the 
road,  for  fear  of  surprise.  At  last, 
God  be  thanked,  we  arrived  safe  at 
the  grand  battery,  and  received  the  re- 
peated congratulations  of  our  friends 
on  account  of  our  happy  deliverance, 
which  was  looked  upon  as  almost 
miraculous. 

I  hope,  gentlemen,  I  shall  not  be 
thought  vain  in  making  mention  of 
one  other  dangerous  exploit,  in  which 
likewise  I  came  off  with  success. 

At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, with  the  assistance  of  but  five 
men,  I  carried  a  fire-ship  under  the 
guns  of  the  city  batteries  to  the 
King's  Gate,  where  I  set  fire  to  tlii 


i  r 


lt> 


38 


.a 


1^ 

^  1- 1: 


•M 


train  ;  and  so  quick  was  the  effect  of 
it,  that  I  lost  my  breath  till  I  got  upon 
deck.  After  this,  we  went  in  our 
boat  under  the  guns  of  the  circular 
battery,  before  we  could  go  over  to  the 
west  side  of  the  harbor,  for  fear  of 
being  discovered  by  the  lire.  The 
French,  indeed,  fired  several  times  at 
us;  but  we  happily  received  no  dam- 
age. We  arrived  safe  soon  after,  at 
the  grand  battery  ;  and  no  sooner  had 
the  fire  took  the  powder,  but  it  tore 
up  the  decks  of  the  ship,  and  threw 
such  a  quantity  of  stones  into  the 
city,  that  they  not  only  broke  down  a 
large  spire  of  the  King's  Gate,  but 
the  end  of  a  large  stone  house,  and 
burnt  three  smail  vessels,  &c.,  besides. 
As  the  morning  was  very  dark,  the 
inhabitants  were  strangely  surprised 
at  such  an  unexpected  act  of  hostility. 
I  have  nothing  further  to  add,  but  that 
I  have  prefixed  to  this  Journal  a  Plan 
of  the  city,  the  garrisons,  the  harbor, 
and   light-house,  &c,,  which    I  hope 


ing, 


39 


fTect  of 
)t  upon 
in  our 
iircular 
r  to  the 
fear  of 
The 
mes  at 

0  dam- 
after,  at 
ner  had 

it  tore 
1  threw 
iito  the 
down  a 
ite,  but 
ij*e,  and 
Desides. 
ark,  the 
irprised 
ostility. 
)ut  that 
a  Plan 
harbor, 

1  hope 


will  meet  with  a  favorable  reception 
from  you,  and  be  thought  at  the  same 
time  an  acceptable  service  to  the  pub- 
lic. As  to  what  batteries  shall  here- 
after be  thought  necessary  to  be  built, 
or  what  repairs  ought  immediately  to 
be  made  to  those  that  are  still  stand- 
ing, I  hope  a  true  and  faithful  account 
thereof  will  speedily  be  delivered  in 
to  those  whom  it  may  more  immedi- 
ately concern,  and  that  proper  persons 
who  are  well  wishers  to  their  king  and 
country  may  be  appointed,  as  soon  as 
conveniently  may  be,  to  put  the  same 
in  execution.  I  am,  with  all  due  re- 
spect, gentlemen. 

Your  humble  servant, 

James  Gibson. 

Dated  July  3,1745,  in  Loidsburg  Harbor^  on  hoard  ^ 
the  SpeedweU,  bound  for  France  with  French    inhab-  S 
itants. 

P.  S.  I  shall  here  take  the  liberty 
to  transcribe  a  letter  verbatim,  which 
I  received  from  Major  William  Hunt. 


I 


m, 


ifi 


I  '1 


I    -s^ 


.»'« 


m 


t\ 


V 


40 


m':\- 


nil 

I. 


i  i 


Royal  Grand  Batltry  of  Kiiuj  Georqe  the  Second^ 
at  Cape  Breton^  in  North  America^  July  4th,  1745. 

Capt.  James  Gibson, — 

I  do,  in  behalf  of  myself  and  others, 
the  commissioned  ofiicers,  return  you 
hearty  thanks  for  the  copy  of  your 
Journal  during  the  siege  against  the 
city  of  Louisbourg,  at  Cape  Breton ; 
and  as  you  are  going  to  France  with 
the  French  inhabitants,  and  so  for  Eng- 
land, we  wish  you  success,  and  that 
you  may,  for  your  charge  and  cour- 
age, have  great  encouragement,  as 
you  did  so  voluntarily  proceed  in  the 
above  expedition  at  your  own  ex- 
pense.    I  am,  sir, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

William  Hunt,  Major. 


/ 


Second^ 
1745. 


I 


)thers, 
1  you 
your 
St  the 
reton ; 

e  with 

r  Eng- 

d  that 

cour- 

snt,  as 
in  the 

^n   ex- 

Major. 


« ;  /' 


JOURNAL 


OF   TBI 


SIEGE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  LOUISBURG. 


Tuesday,  April  80th,  1745. 

This  day  our  men  of  war,  priva- 
teers and  transports,  arrived  safe  at 
Caboruch  Bay  in  Cape  Breton,  from 
Canco,  where  we  lay  from  the  second 
day  of  this  instant  April,  to  the  28th, 
at  which  time  we  anchored  within 
five  miles  of  the  city  of  Louisburg. 

No  sooner  were  our  whale  boats 
got  out  in  order  to  land  our  troops, 
but  Capt.  Morepang  came  down  from 
the  city  with  fourscore  and  seven 
men  to  prevent  their  attempt.  Our 
privateers,  however,  lying  at  anchor 

4 


m 


1  ■'.' 


42 


in. 


M 


near  the  shore,  fired  smartly  at  them  ; 
and  in  the  mean  time  we  landed 
some  hundred  of  men,  who  went  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy.  We  killed  six 
of  them,  and  took  five  prisoners,  and, 
in  short,  totally  beat  them  off.  Nay, 
more,  we  prevented  them  from  get- 
ting into  the  city,  and  obliged  them  to 
fly  for  shelter  into  the  woods. 

Wednesday^  May  1.  Our  troops 
marched  towards  the  grand  battery, 
and  set  fire  to  ten  houses,  the  inhabi- 
tants being  fled  into  the  city.  The 
flames  so  surprised  the  soldiers  in  the 
aforesaid  battery,  that  both  they  and 
their  captain  (one  Carey  by  name) 
made  the  best  of  their  way  by  water 
into  the  city;  whereupon  several  of 
our  companies  took  possession  of  the 
place,  and  at  daybreak  hoisted  up 
King  George's  flag.    *  ^     ;i       > 

Thursday^  2,  The  French,  perceiv- 
ing the  English  flag  hoisted  up,  fired 
shot  and  bombs  from  the  island  bat- 
tery, and  all  the  other  batteries  in  the 


i 


43 


city,  against  the  grand  battery  inces- 
santly, day  and  night,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose, for  they  all  went  over  us. 
Wherever  they  saw  two  or  three  men 
together,  they  would  send  a  bomb  or 
a  parcel  of  shot  after  them.  The 
guns  which  we  found  in  the  grand 
battery  were  plugged,  and  their  car- 
riage wheels,  &c.,  cut  by  the  French. 

Friday^  3.  The  city  and  batteries 
fired  smartly  all  day  and  night  with 
bombs  and  cannon  against  the  grand 
battery.  One  of  our  guns  being 
drilled,  we  fired  into  the  city ;  and 
the  first  shot,  being  unexpected,  killed 
fourteen  men. 

Saturday^  4.  The  city  batteries, 
&c.,  played  as  fast  as  possible  with 
bombs  and  cannon  against  our  grand 
battery.  As  we  had  two  of  our  guns 
drilled,  w^e  fired  against  the  eity  with 
good  effect;  for  we  took  St.  John^s 
and  St.  Peter^s,  and  burnt  them.  We 
took  likewise  about  twenty  prisoners ; 
but  the  others  made  their  escape  in 


■'1    V-  '.I 


tfJL','-'-^^'  "Mgi.  t'TUfP^PM 


11 


44 


the  woods.     We  took,  moreover,  sev- 
eral small  vessels  and  some  plunder. 

Sunday,^  5,  The  French  fired  but 
a  few  guns  and  bombs  against  us. 
This  day  the  first  Protestant  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  mass-house  at 
the  grand  battery.  The  text  was 
taken  out  of  the  100th  Psalm,  verses 
4  and  5.  In  the  evening  we  fired 
smartly  against  the  city  with  our  two 
pieces  of  cannon. 

Monday,  6.  Our  company,  consist- 
ing of  ninety-six  men,  marched  to 
the  north-east  harbor,  which  was  ten 
miles  from  the  grand  battery,  and 
drove  the  inhabitants  into  the  woods. 
Our  grand  battery,  having  several 
guns  drilled,  fired  smartly  against  the 
city  and  island  battery :  they,  however, 
fired  but  seldom  at  us. 

Tuesday,  7.  Our  scout  at  the 
north-east  harbor  loaded  a  schooner 
with  plunder,  and  a  shallop  with  ex- 
cellent fish.  Though  the  city  and 
other  batteries  fired  smartly  against 


45 


? 


the  grand  battery,  yet  they  did  no 
damage.  We,  on  the  other  hand, 
having  several  guns  drilled,  fired 
smartly  against  the  city  and  island 
battery,  and  every  gun  did  execu- 
tion. 

Wednesday,  8.  The  grand  battery 
fired  all  day  against  the  island  bat- 
tery and  city,  with  good  effect;  the 
city  and  other  batteries,  however, 
fired  but  seldom  at  us.  One  of  our 
guns  happened  to  split,  by  which  ac- 
cident one  of  our  men  was  hurt. 

Thursday,  9.  Our  grand  battery, 
having  twenty  guns  drilled,  and  their 
carriages  repaired,  fired  smartly  against 
the  city  and  island  battery.  We  saw 
several  shots  go  through  the  roofs  of 
three  houses;  as  also  several  chim- 
neys, and  the  ambeseers  of  the  bat- 
teries knocked  down. 

Friday,  10.  A  small  scout  of  twen- 
ty-live men  got  to  the  north-east  har- 
bor. I  and  four  more  being  in  a  house 
upon  plunder,  140   French   and   In- 


•  j^.yj"  '  ■  ■■■■ry* 


46 


I*  ' 
If; 

1 


dians  came  down  upon  us  first,  and 
fired  a  volley,  with  a  great  noise. 
Two  jumped  out  of  the  window,  and 
were  shotdeao'  With  great  difficulty 
the  other  two  and  myself  got  safe  to 
the  grand  battery.  They  afterwards 
killed  nineteen  of  the  remaining 
twenty. 

Saturday^  11.  A  company  this 
day  marched  to  the  north-east  harbor, 
and  buried  the  men  that  were  killed 
yesterday.  They  burnt  likewise  every 
house  in  the  place,  wulh  the  mass- 
house,  fish  stages,  and  warehouses. 
They  destroyed,  moreover,  about  100 
shalloways,  and  took  forty  prison- 
ers. The  grand  battery  fired  smartly 
against  the  city.  :        ;    / 

Sunday^  12.  Not  one  gun  fired 
from  the  island  battery  this  day.  The 
grand  battery,  however,  and  our  other 
batteries  fired  smartly  against  the  city 
to  very  good  effect;  for  not  a  gun 
was  returned.  We  had  a  sermon  in 
the  mass-house  at  the  grand  battery. 


47 


;t,  and 
noise. 
V,  and 
ficulty 
afe  to 
wards 
aining 

r   this 

arbor, 

killed 

every 

inas3> 

ouses. 

It  100 

)rison- 

martly 

fired 
.  The 
'  other 
le  city 
I  gun 
on  in 
attery. 


Ir 


Tlie  text  was  taken  from  the  27th 
verse  of  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  He- 
brews :  *  And  it  is  appointed  unto 
men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the 
judgment.  So  Christ  was  once  of- 
fered to  bear  the  sins  of  many ;  and 
unto  them  that  look  for  him  shall  he 
appear  the  second  time  without  sin 
unto  salvation.' 

Monday^  13.  At  three  o'clock  this 
afternoon,  a  large  French  snow  came 
round  the  light-house,  the  wind  being 
east-north-east.  She  was  obliged  to 
run  into  the  harbor  of  Louisburg. 
Though  our  grand  battery  and  other 
battery  fired  at  her,  yet  she  kept 
close  aboard  the  island  battery  and 
the  city,  till  she  grounded  against  the 
King's  Gate.  This  vessel  came  from 
France,  laden  with  stores  for  the  fish- 
ermen. This  was  the  only  vessel  that 
got  in  after  we  had  taken  possession 
of  the  grand  battery.  The  city  and 
island  battery  fired  as  fast  as  possible 
against  the  grand  battery  till  the  snow 


!5! 


Hi 


'  / 


48 


i 

\ 

] 

ii   t 

I  i 


grounded.  At  night  we  got  a  large 
schooner,  filled  with  combustibles,  put 
a  small  sail  on  her,  and  carried  her 
between  the  island  battery  and  the 
city.  So  soon  as  the  fire  took  the 
train,  the  French  fired  from  the  city 
and  island  battery  against  the  schoon- 
er, and  the  grand  battery,  no  less 
than  thirty  shot.  One  of  our  men 
•was  killed  by  landgrage,  and  several 
were  wounded.  Our  gunner  like- 
wise was  killed  at  our  fascine  battery, 
through  the  misfortune  of  a  gun's 
splitting. 

Tuesday^  14.  There  was  a  north- 
east storm  of  wind  and  rain  this  day. 
The  city  fired  smartly  against  our 
fascine  battery.  Our  batteries,  on  the 
other  hand,  fired  against  the  city  with 
.good  effect.  In  order  to  prevent  the 
loading  of  our  guns  at  the  fascine  bat- 
tery, the  French  fired  small  arms,  as 
soon  as  we  had  discharged  our  cannon ; 
4)ut  they  did  no  manner  of  execution. 

Wednesday,,  15.     This  day  the  city 


■  I 


49 


i 


a  large 
les,  put 
ied  her 
nd  the 
)ok  the 
he  city 
schoon- 
no  less 
ir  men 
several 
3r  like- 
battery, 
\  gun's 

I  norlh- 
his  day. 
nst  our 
,  on  the 
ity  with 
rent  the 
dne  bat- 
rms,  as 
;annon ; 
cution. 
the  city 


fired  several  bombs  and  guns  against 
our  fascine  battery.  We  fired  twenty- 
eight  guns  and  several  bombs,  which 
did  great  execution  in  the  city;  for 
they  broke  down  the  wall  of  the  cir- 
cular battery  and  the  ambuseers. 

Thursday^  16.  Our  artillery  from 
the  Green  Hill  threw  above  fifty 
bombs  and  balls  into  the  city,  which 
drove  down  chimneys  and  roofs  of 
houses.  The  city,  indeed,  fired 
smartly ;  but  not  a  gun  was  heard 
from  the  island  battery.  Two  oi  our 
gnns  at  the  grand  battery  split,  by 
which  misfortune  two  of  our  men 
were  wounded. 

Friday^  17.  Captain  Rouse  con- 
voyed six  transports  from  Boston  with 
four  months'  provision  for  our  land 
army.  Capt.  Gayton,  likewise,  ar- 
rived from  Boston  with  military 
stores.  The  city  fired  smartly  all 
day  against  our  fascine  battery,  and 
the  island  battery  threw  three  bombs 
against     the    grand     battery.       We 

5 


*i 


r.,: 


t 


'r ! 


:  ii 


I 


50 


dragged  several  forty-two  pounders 
from  the  grand  to  the  fascine  battery, 
notwithstanding  it  was  two  miles  dis- 
tant, and  the  way  rough.  100  French 
went  out  of  the  city  by  water,  and 
landed  at  the  back  of  the  light-house, 
in  order  to  cut  off  our  men ;  but  as 
we  were  apprised  of  their  inten- 
tion, we  engaged  them,  killed  three, 
wounded  several,  and  took  the  cap- 
tain of  their  company  prisoner.  One 
of  our  Indian  friends  was  hurt  very 
much  by  the  splitting  of  one  of  our 
guns. 

Saturdai/,  18.  The  city  fired  as 
fast  as  possible  against  our  fascine 
battery  and  artillery  at  the  Green 
Hill.  We,  on  the  other  hand,  shot 
several  of  the  French  with  our  small 
arms,  at  the  city  wall  from  our  fas- 
cine battery,  as  it  was  but  twenty-  | 
five  roods' distance.  • 

Sundat/j  19.  This  day  a  sad  acci- 
dent happened  at  our  fascine  battery. 
Two  barrels  of  powder  took  fire,  and 


51 


)unclers 

battery, 

lies  dis- 

French 

ter,  and 

t-house, 

but  as 

inten- 

d  three, 

he  cap- 

r.     One 

urt  very 

of  our 

fired  as 
fascine 
I  Green 
nd,  shot 
ur  small 
our  fas- 
twenty- 

ad  acci- 

battery. 

fire,  and 


killed  seven  of  our  men.  Though  all 
our  batteries  fired  smartly  against  the 
city>  yet  the  island  battery  did  not 
fire  a  gun  for  several  days ;  and 
the  last  shells  they  threw  were  half 
filled  with  bran ;  from  whence  we 
might  reasonably  conjecture,  that  they 
grew  short  of  powder.  We  had  a 
sermon  preached  today,  and  the  text 
was  the  11th  verse  of  the  17th  chap- 
ter of  Exodus :  *And  it  came  to  pass 
when  Moses  held  up  his  hand,  that 
Israel  prevailed ;  and  when  he  let 
down  his  hand,  Amalek  prevailed.'  i 
Monday^  20.  Two  French  ships 
and  a  snow  were  taken  and  sent  into 
Caboruch  Bay.  Commodore  War- 
ren and  the  other  ships  are  still  out  in 
chase  of  a  man-of-war.  The  city 
fired  all  day  against  our  fascine  bat- 
tery. All  our  batteries  fired  so  smartly 
against  the  city,  that  some  of  the 
ambuseers  on  the  south  side  were 
beaten  down  at  the  circular  battery. 
200  of  our  men  marched  on  a  scout 


■'i^l 


,^>^ 


52 


1  ■:: 


if 


f  f 


ni 


I    ; 


to  the  north-east  harbor.  Captain 
Fletcher  sent  his  boat  ashore  to  take 
in  water,  ten  were  killed,  and  four 
escaped.  *♦ 

Tuerda?/,  21.  This  day  the  scout 
of  2Go  men  returned  to  the  grand 
battery,  and  brought  with  them  a 
French  doctor,  and  seven  other  cap- 
tives, having  first  burned  the  mass- 
house,  and  all  the  other  houses;  as 
also  destroyed  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  fishing  shallops  and  the  fish 
stages.  Commodore  Warren  sent 
in  the  French  man-of-war  that  had 
been  chased  for  several  days.  She  is 
a  fine  new  ship  of  sixty-four  guns, 
called  the  Vigilant,  and  laden  with 
stores,  a  great  number  of  large  guns, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  powder,  be- 
sides stores  for  the  city  of  Louisburg, 
and  other  stores  for  a  seventy-gun 
ship  which  is  building  at  Canada. 
A  large  brigantine  arrived  this  day 
from  France,  and  came  into  our  fleet 
through  mistake,  as  the  weather  was 


Captain 
to  take 
d   four 

e  scout 
grand 
them    a 
ler  cap- 
mass- 
ises;  as 
e  num- 
tbe  fish 
•en    sent 
ihat  had 
She  is 
ur  guns, 
len  with 
■ge  guns, 
vder,  be- 
Duisburg, 
enty-gun 
Canada, 
this  day 
our  fleet 
ither  was 


5a 


very  foggy.  She  was  laden  wilh 
brandy  and  stores.  A  scout  of  200 
men  marched  out  after  some  hund- 
reds of  French  and  Indians  who  were 
coming  down,  as  we  heard,  upon  our 
camp.  The  scout  returned,  the  ene- 
my moving  off,  and  brought  in  seven 
cows  and  several  calves  and  goats, 
&c.  Our  small  battery,  with  two 
pieces  of  cannon,  fired  on  the  city, 
and  did  great  execution ;  and  notwith- 
standing our  other  battery  fired  smartly 
against  the  city  with  good  effect,  yet 
the  city  did  not  return  a  gun ;  neither 
had  the  island  battery  fired  a  gun  for 
several  days.  At  the  King's  Wharf, 
we  found  thirty  pieces  of  cannon 
sunk,  from  six  to  twelve  pounders. 
This  is  the  place  where  the  men-of- 
war  heave  down.  It  is  a  long  wharf, 
that  is  planked  for  spreading  and 
mending  of  sails ;  and  a  large  ship 
may  lie  along  side  of  it.  The  Vigi- 
lant lost  sixty  men  ;  we,  only  five. 
Wednesday^  22.     This  day  the  city 


54 


fired  as  quick  as  possible  against  us; 
we,  on  the  other  hand,  shot  several  of 
the  French  who  were  on  the  city  wall, 
with  our  small  arms  from  the  fascine 
battery;  and,  as  the  French  gunner 
was  luckily  killed  likewise  in  the  city 
by  another  shot,  they  hoisted  their 
flags  half  mast  upon  that  occasion. 
This  day  a  fifty-gun  ship  joined  our 
fleet. 

Thursday^  23.  This  day  a  great 
number  of  our  men  were  busily  em- 
ployed in  furnishing  near  fifty  of  our 
whale  boats  with  paddles,  ladders, 
&c.;  and,  about  twelve  o'clock,  500 
men  of  t"  e  land  army  and  marines 
embarked  from  on  board  the  man-of- 
war,  with  a  view  of  making  them- 
selves masters  of  the  island  battery; 
but  at  that  time  there  arose  such  a 
prodigious  fog,  that  they  could  not  see 
where  to  land,  notwithstanding  they 
were  in  the  nut  of  the  shore.  When 
it  began  to  clear  up,  they  were  obliged 
to  draw  off)  though  at  that  time  there 


55 


st  us; 
eral  of 
y  wall, 
ascine 
;unner 
le  city 
their 

asion. 
jd  our 

great 
ly  em- 
of  our 
adders, 
ik,  500 
larines 
nan-of- 

them- 
>attery ; 
such  a 
not  see 
g  they 
When 
obliged 
le  there 


I 


were  but  fourteen  men  in  the  island 
battery.  -  ^        .  »> 

Friday^  24.  The  fleet  this  day  ap- 
pearing off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
made  a  gallant  show.  At  night,  five 
of  our  men  and  myself  went  on  board 
a  ship  which  we  first  filled  with  com- 
bustibles, and  then  carried  her  under 
a  small  sale  by  the  iron  battery  till  we 
had  grounded  her  against  th'  King's 
Gate  belonging  to  the  city.  ^  soon- 
er was  the  train  set  on  fire^  bat  the 
city  fired  smartly  against  us;  and 
when  we  took  boat,  we  were  obliged 
to  row  under  the  mouth  of  their  can- 
non, till  we  got  on  the  western  side 


') 


of  the  harbor.  This  fire-ship  did  as 
much  execution  as  we  could  rea- 
sonably expect ;  for  it  burnt  three  ves- 
sels, and  not  only  beat  down  the  pin- 
nacle of  the  King^s  Gate,  but  great 
part  of  a  stone  house  in  the  city ;  and, 
as  this  was  transacted  in  the  dead  of 
the  night,  it  put  the  inhabitants  into 
an  uncommon  consternation.         .   t 


^^  ] 


\ 


*'.' 


56 


IIM 


I 


Saturday^  25.  This  day  the  fascine 
battery  fired  smartly  against  the  city 
wall,  and  not  only  beat  down  a  great 
part  of  it,  but  much  damaged  the  cita- 
del, which  gave  us  great  hopes  of 
success.  The  city,  indeed,  in  return, 
fired  both  their  cannon  and  their  small 
arms  against  the  said  battery,  but  to 
little  or  no  effect.  '  ^. 

Sunday,  26.  This  day,  a  scout,  con- 
sisting of  153  men  besides  myself, 
marched  to  the  west-north-west  part 
of  this  island,  which  is  twenty-five 
miles'  distance,  or  thereabouts,  from 
the  grand  battery.  We  found  two 
fine  farms  upon  a  neck  of  land  that 
extended  near  seven  miles  in  length. 
The  first  we  came  to  was  a  very  hand- 
some house,  and  had  tv^o  large  barns, 
well  finished,  that  lay  contiguous  to  it. 
Here,  likewise,  were  two  very  large 
gardens  ;  as  also,  some  fields  of  corn  of 
a  considerable  height,  and  other  good 
lands  thereto  belonging,  besides  plen- 
ty of  beach  wood   and  fresh  water. 


th? 

Wl 


57 


(li 


cine 
city 
^reat 
cita- 
of 
turn. 


In  this  house  we  took  seven  French- 
men and  one  woman,  prisoners.  It 
was  not  nmch  more  than  five  hours 
before  our  arrival,  that  140  French 
and  Indians  had  been  killing  cattle 
here,  and  baking  bread,  for  provis- 
ions in  their  march  against  our  men, 
who  were  at  that  time  possessed  of 
the  light-house.  These  were  the  very 
same  band,  or  company,  that  mur- 
dered nineteen  of  our  men  at  the 
north-east-harbor  on  the  10th  instant, 
and  shot  the  two  men  that  jumped 
out  of  the  window,  as  is  more  partic- 
ularly mentioned  in  the  article  of 
that  day.  At  that  unhappy  juncture 
they  took  one  Sergeant  Cockrin  pris- 
oner; and  notwithstanding  he  had 
made  it  his  whole  study  from  that 
time  to  humor  and  oblige  them,  yet, 
after  a  dance  this  day,  they  fell  upon 
him,  and  in  a  most  barbarous  manner 
cut  off  the  ends  of  his  fingers  ;  after 
that,  they  slit  them  up  to  his  hand. 
When  this  scene  of  cruelty  was  over, 


m 

'■      ',3 


b%l 


t 


I'i" 


:k 


58 


they  entered  upon  a  new  one ;  and  in 
the  first  place  cut  off  the  tip  of  his 
tongue,  and  in  an  insulting  manner 
bid  him  speak  English ;  after  that, 
they  cut  off  some  part  of  his  flesh,  and 
made  one  of  his  fellow-prisoners  eat 
it ;  they  then  cut  his  carcass  up  like 
a  parcel  of  inhuman  butchers,  and,  to 
show  their  last  marks  of  malice  and 
resentment,  threw  it  into  the  sea.  ,  t?. 
The  other  house  was  a  fine  stone 
edifice,  consisting  of  six  rooms  on  a 
floor,  all  well  finished.  There  was  a 
fine  walk  before  it,  and  two  fine  barns 
contiguous  to  it,  with  fine  gardens 
and  other  appurtenances,  besides  sev- 
eral fine  fields  of  wheat.  In  one  of  the 
barns  there  were  fifteen  loads  of  hay, 
and  room  sufficient  for  three  score 
horses  and  other  cattle.  At  our  de- 
parture from  the  first  farm,  we  set  all 
we  left  behind  us  on  fire ;  and  turn- 
ing back,  at  a  small  distance,  we  saw 
some  hundreds  of  the  enemy  hover- 
ing round  the  flames.     We  likewise 


and  in 
of  his 
nanner 
ir  that, 
sh,  and 
ers  eat 
ip  like 
and,  to 
ce  and 
ja. 

e  stone 
13  on  a 
was  a 
barns 
ardens 
as  sev- 
of  the 
)f  hay, 
score 
ur  de- 
set  all 
turn- 
^e  saw 
hover- 
tewise 


59 


set  fire  to,  and  reduced  the  last  farm 
as  well  as  the  first  to  ruins.  Here 
we  took  three  men  in  a  boat  which 
was  laden  with  provisions  and  sailing 
down  to  the  city  of  Louisburg.  This 
last  house  was  situated  on  the  mouth 
of  a  large  salmon  fishery  which  was 
some  few  roods  wide  ;  and,  about  half 
a  mile  above  it,  there  was  a  large 
pond  of  fresh  water,  which  was  near 
four  miles  over. 

Monday^  27.  This  day  we  returned 
with  our  scout,  consisting  of  154  men, 
to  the  grand  battery,  all  well,  and  in 
high  spirits.  At  twelve  o'clock  our 
whale-boats  were  well  fixed  with  lad- 
ders ;  and  two  hundred  men  at  least, 
if  not  more,  attempted  to  scale  the 
walls  of  the  island  battery.  The 
French  discovered  the  same;  and  as 
soon  as  our  boats  came  near  to  shore, 
the  French  fired  their  large  cannon 
loaded  with  landgrage,  which  des- 
troyed several  of  our  boats  as  well  as 
our  men.    Those  that  actually  landed 


!{|i 


I":' 


n; 


'■  / 


60 


t 


Iff 


fought  till  sunrise,  and  then  called  for 
quarter.  Out  of  the  number  that 
went  to  the  island  battery,  154  of  our 
men  were  missing.  By  two  that  de- 
serted from  the  French,  we  were  in- 
formed that  118  of  our  men  were 
taken  and  carried  prisoners  into  the 
city ;  so  that  in  that  bold  attempt  we 
lost  only  six  and  thirty  men.  The 
French  who  were  at  that  time  in  the 
battery,  were  between  300  and  400. 

Tuesday^  28.  This  day,  not  only 
the  grand  battery,  but  our  other  bat- 
teries, fired  smartly  on  the  city.  We 
saw  the  shot  beat  down  several  chim- 
neys, and  go  through  the  roofs  of  sev- 
eral houses.  This  day  a  scout  of  400 
men  marched  towards  Scatteree,  upon 
information  that  a  great  number  of 
French  and  Indians  were  marching 
towards  our  camps  in  order  to  cut 
them  off.  As  our  scout  was  march- 
ing down  a  hill  at  the  north-east  har- 
bor, they  came  ail  on  a  sudden  upon 
160  French  and  Indians,  who,  in  a 


I 


61 


d  for 

that 
f  our 
at  de- 
e  in- 

were 
o  the 
pt  we 

The 
in  the 
400.  ^ 
t  only 
r  bat- 

We 
chim- 
)f  sev- 
3f400 
,  upon 
ber  of 
•ching 
o  cut 
larch- 
t  har- 
upon 
»  in  a 


great  consternation,  ran  up  another 
hill  that  was  full  of  trees  and  fortified 
I  with  rocks.  As  our  people  were  only 
'  in  an  open  garden,  as  it  were,  the 
French  and  Indians  fired  smartly  at 
theni;  but,  notwithstanding  their  ad- 
vantageous situation,  we  killed  thirty- 
seven  and  wounded  forty-one,  as  we 
were  informed  by  the  French  cap- 
tain's wife,  whom  we  had  taken  pris- 
oner :  and  they  killed  only  ten  of  ours. 
The  French  and  Indians  made  off  in 
such  a  hurry,  that  they  di'!  not  stay  to 
bury  their  dead.  This  was  the  same 
company  that  was  at  the  west-north- 
west neck  of  land  on  Sunday  the 
26th  instant.  We  took  their  shallo- 
ways  laden  with  provisions,  &c. 

Wednesday^  29.  This  day  our 
scout,  consisting  of  400  men,  marched 
to  Scatteree,  where  we  burnt  several 
houses,  and  took  six  men  and  three 
women  prisoners.  Scatteree  is  about 
twenty  miles  fr  )m  the  grand  battery. 
Last  night  we   (for  I  was   amongst 


tl 


If 


62 


therriy  lodged  in  the  woods.  The 
French  and  Indians  drew  off.  Our 
batteries  fired  smartly  against  the  city. 

Thursday^  30.  This  day  our  scout 
above  mentioned  of  400  men  returned 
to  the  grand  battery,  well  and  in  high 
spirits,  &c. 

Friday^  31.  Rain  and  fog.  Not 
a  gun  was  fired  this  day  on  one  side 
or  the  other.  '  o 

Saturday  J  June  1.  This  day  our 
batteries  played  smartly  against  the 
city  with  their  bombs  and  cannon. 
The  island  battery  did  not  fire  a  gun 
for  several  days  together,  and  the  city 
but  a  few.  *'-  -    '  - 

Sunday,  2.  Last  night  we  raised  a 
great  part  of  a  new  battery  at  the 
light-house.  Two  hundred  men  were 
at  work  upon  it.  The  French  at  the 
island  battery,  when  they  saw  it  in  the 
morning,  were  not  only  surprised,  but 
so  incensed  at  the  progress  our  men 
had  made,  that  they  fired  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible with  their   bombs  and  cannon 


The 
Our 
J  city, 
scout 
urned 
high 

Not 
e  side 

y  our 
St  the 
mnon. 
a  gun 
he  city 

lised  a 
at  the 
1  were 
at  the 
in  the 
id,  but 
r  men 
IS  pos- 
annon 


t1 


63 


upon  them,  and  obliged  them  to  draw 
off.  One  flanker  of  this  battery  fronts 
the  sea,  and  the  other  is  directly  op- 
posite to  the  island  battery;  so  that 
we  can  sweep  the  platform  of  the 
island  battery,  and  command  all  the 
shipping  that  goes  in  or  comes  out. 
The  French  laid  a  boom  from  the 
east  battery  to  that  of  the  west,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  any  of  our  fireships 
from  annoying  the  city,  or  any  of 
our  boats  from  landing.  We  had  a 
sermon  on  the  following  words :  *  Pre- 
pare to  meet  thy  God,  O  Zion ! ' 

Monday^  3.  This  day  a  vessel  ar- 
rived from  Boston  with  a  large  mor- 
tar piece,  which  was  landed,  and 
drawn  to  the  light-house  battery. 
We  had  advice  from  the  captain  that 
1,000  men  were  voluntarily  raised  to 
reinforce  our  troops  here ;  and  that 
we  might  expect  them  very  soon. 
We  had  farther  advice  that  the  French 
fleet  of  men-of-war  were  stopt  at  Brest 
by  our    English   men-of-war.      We 


n.. 


t 


«  t 


64 


had  moreover  600  barrels  of  powder 
arrived  from  Boston,  besides  stores 
for  the  army.  This  supply  cf  ammu- 
nition came  very  opportunely ;  for  we 
had  not  powder  sufficient  for  any 
more  than  four  rounds  at  the  grand 
battery.  This  put  new  life  and  spirits 
into  all  of  us. 

Tuesday^  4.  This  day  we  fired  our 
cannon  and  bombs  against  the  city. 
Both  of  our  mortars  proved  so  defec- 
tive, that  it  was  not  thought  safe  to 
make  use  of  them  any  more.  Where- 
upon a  privateer-snow  was  sent  im- 
mediately to  Annapolis  for  a  fresh 
supply.  We  heard  such  a  great  num- 
ber of  guns  fired  at  sea,  that  we  con- 
cluded there  was  a  smart  engage- 
ment between  our  men-of-war  and 
the  French.  f!  .      u<  u,' 

Wednesday^  5.  Last  night  was 
taken  and  brought  in  a  French  ship 
of  fourteen  carriage  guns,  and  above 
300  ton,  laden  with  beef,  pork,  butter, 
cheese,  pease,  beans,  brandy,  salt,  and 


i 


65 


powder 
3  stores 
fammu- 
;  for  we 
for  any 
le  grand 
id  spirits 

fired  our 
the  city. 
3o  defec- 
:  safe  to 
Where- 
sent  im- 
a   fresh 
!at  num- 
we  con- 
en  gage- 
vav  and 

'ht  was 
ich  ship 
d  above 
:,  butter, 
salt,  and 


other  stores  for  the  fishery.  This  was 
the  ship,  it  seems,  which  we  heard  in 
the  engagement  yesterday.  The  fas- 
cine battery  played  smartly  with  their 
bombs  and  cannon,  and  to  very  good 
effect.  In  the  morning,  the  French 
drank  to  us  from  the  city  wall,  we 
being  so  near  that  we  could  speak  to 
each  other. 

Thursdai/y  6.  This  day  the  French 
prisoners  that  were  taken  in  the  Vig- 
ilant, and  some  others  who  were 
made  captives  by  land,  were  carried 
on  board  Captain  Gayton,  and  seve- 
ral other  transports,  and  the  prizes 
bound  for  Boston,  being  in  number 
upwards  of  1,000  men.  h  ?  r  i 
J  Friday y  7.  This  day  the  prizes 
and  prisoners  set  sail  for  Boston,  un- 
der the  convoy  of  Capt.  Grayton  and 
Snelling.     Our  battery  fired  smartly. 

Saturday,  8.  This  day  we  sent  a 
flag  of  truce  to  the  governor  of  the 
city  of  Louisburg,  with  a  letter  from 
the   captain  who  was  taken  in   the 

6 


I 


■ 


I;  3  II 


66 


Vigilant  man-of-war,  wherein  he  gave 
advice  that  both  he  and  his  men  were 
treated  in  a  handsome  manner  by  the 
English,  and  desired  to  know  the  rea- 
son why  the  English  did  not  meet 
with  the  like  civil  treatment  and  good 
quarters  at  the  north-east-harbor  and 
island  battery,  when  requested. 

Sundat/,  9.  Two  Switzers  last 
night  deserted  the  French  guards  in 
the  city,  and  came  to  our  grand  bat- 
tery, who  informed  us  that  there  was 
no  meat  to  be  had  in  all  the  city  ;  and 
that  the  French  subsisted  wholly  on 
salt  fish,  bread  and  peas.  They  as- 
sured us  likewise,  that  there  were  but 
about  100  barrels  of  powder  left  for 
all  their  batteries.  To  this  they  added, 
that  the  first  gun  that  we  drilled  and 
fired  from  the  grand  battery  killed 
fourteen  of  their  men.  This  day  our 
men-of-war  went  in  chase  of  a  large 
ship,  which  proved  to  be  a  man-of- 
war,  to  join  our  fleet  from  England. 
Two  valuable  prizes  were  taken  and 


67 


e  gave 
1  were 
by  the 
16  rea- 
t  meet 
i  good 
3r  and 

s  last 
irds  in 
id  bat- 
re  was 
f ;  and 
oily  on 
[ley  as- 
ere  but 
left  for 
added, 
ed  and 
killed 
lay  our 
a  large 
nan-of- 
ngland. 
en  and 


sent  to  Boston.  A  large  sloop  of  110 
tons,  from  Canada,  laden  with  pro- 
visions and  bound  for  Louisburg,  was 
chased  by  one  of  our  privateers,  and 
ran  on  shore  at  the  back  of  the  light- 
house; ~bout  fifty  men  made  their 
escape.  We  got  the  vessel  off*  with- 
out any  damage. 

Monday^  10.  This  day  our  new 
battery  at  the  light-house  played  with 
three  pieces  of  cannon  against  the 
island  battery.  Our  south  planker 
swept  the  west  platform,  so  that  they 
could  not  load  their  cannon.  The 
French  would  have  jumped  out  of  the 
ambuseers  into  the  sea;  but  when 
they  found  we  had  but  three  guns 
mounted,  they  fired  bombs  and  shot 
as  fast  as  possibly  they  dared  to  load, 
from  the  north  flanker.  It  was  all  to 
no  purpose,  however;  for  we  beat 
down  part  of  their  garrison  house. 

Tuesday^  11.  This  day  a  scout  of 
230  men  (amongst  whom  I  was  one) 
marched  out  of  the  grand  battery  to 


A\ 


i 


68 


if  I 


'    n 


■) 


Scatteree ;  we  being  informed  by  some 
prisoners,  that  several  hundreds  of 
French  and  Indians  were  coming 
down  upon  our  camps.  Two  of  our 
transports  landed  some  ordnance  and 
provisions  at  the  light-house.  Though 
the  French  at  the  island  battery  fired 
bombs  and  shot  in  the  morning  as 
fast  as  possibly  they  could,  yet  they 
did  no  manner  of  damage.  Last 
night  two  boats  came  safe  into  the 
harbor  with  powder  and  ball.  We 
had  200  men  at  work  a-nights  at  the 
light-house  battery.  All  our  batteries 
fired  smartly  against  the  city,  and 
with  good  effect.  As  their  shot  and 
bombs  fell  short,  we  imagined  that 
their  powder  was  near  spent. 

Wednesday^  12.  For  three  nights 
past,  our  boats  brought  in  provisions 
and  stores  from  Caboruch  Bay,  by 
the  island  battery,  without  the  least 
interruption.  This  day  our  scout  of 
230  men  returned  from  their  march, 
and  found   the   enemy  were   moved 


69 


^some 
;ds  of 
oming 
of  our 
?e  and 
hough 
y  fired 
ing  as 
5t  they 

Last 
ito  the 

We 
1  at  the 
itteries 
y,  and 
ot  and 
d  that 

nights 
visions 
ay,  by 
e  least 

!0Ut  of 

inarch, 
moved 


off.  Yesterday  two  men-of-war  from 
England  joined  our  fleet.  The  city 
threw  sixty-two  bombs  against  us  from 
three  o^clock  in  the  afternoon  to  eight 
the  next  morning,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  shot  besides,  which  did  no  great 
damage.  However,  our  bombs  and 
shot  beat  down  several  chimneys  and 
roofs  of  houses,  &c. 

Thursday^  13.  Yesterday  the  city 
fired  seventeen  bombs  and  shot 
against  a  small  battery  which  we 
had  erected  about  a  mile  from  the 
grand  battery.  Five  of  them  were 
forty-two  pounders.  Last  night  we 
carried  a  schooner  out  of  the  harbor. 
Though  the  island  battery  fired  twenty 
odd  bombs  and  shot  likewise  against 
our  light-house  battery,  yet  they  did 
no  damage.  Our  bombs  and  shot, 
on  the  other  hand,  did  considera- 
ble execution.  The  ships  of  war 
which  lay  at  anchor  before  the  har- 
bor, are  these  that  follow,  viz.  Com- 
modore Warren  in  the  Superb,  the 
Hector,  the    Altham,    the    Launces- 


fi> 


70 


ii! 


!  '1 


ton,  the  Princess  Mary,  the  Mer- 
maid, the  Chester,  the  Ci?.nterbury, 
the  Sunderland,  the  Lar^ ,  The  Vig- 
ilant, a  man-of-war  of  sixty-four  guns, 
taken  from  the  French.  Besides  these, 
several  twenty -gun  ships  from  New 
England ;  also  snows,  brigantines,  and 
sloops  of  force,  in  all  above  twenty ; 
and  moreover  85  transports.  Twenty 
French  prizes  were  taken  to  this  day. 

A  large  privateer  brigantine  of 
eighteen  carriage  guns,  and  120  tons, 
was  fitted  out,  and  was  to  sail  the  day 
we  landed;  but  the  French  immedi- 
ately scuttled  and  sunk  her  in  the 
harbor. 

Yesterday  we  got  up  a  fine  sloop 
which  the  French  had  sunk,  laden 
with  plank  and  timber,  intended  for 
a  new  platform,  the  foundation  where- 
of was  laid  at  the  west  part  of  the 
grand  battery,  and  was  to  be  finished 
this  year;  but  we  have  saved  them 
that  charge  and  trouble. 

Friday^  14.     Last  night  the  large 


71 


Mer- 
irbury, 
e  Vig- 
r  guns, 
s  these, 
1  New 
es,  and 
iventy ; 
!'wenty 
is  day. 
ine  of 
0  tons, 
he  day 
nmedi- 
in  the 

•r.  . 

5    sloop 

laden 
led  for 
where- 
of the 
mished 
[  them 

J  large 


morlar  from  Boston  was  conveyed  to 
the  light-house  battery,  which  played 
against  the  island  battery  seven  pieces 
of  ordnance,  and  one  mortar,  which 
beat  down  not  only  the  end  of  the 
garrison,  but  all  the  chimneys  and 
part  of  the  roof;  as  also  the  north 
ambuseers,  and  dismounted  several 
guns.  When  the  French  saw  a  bomb 
coming,  they  would  jump  out  of  ihe 
ambuseers  into  the  sea.  As  the  city 
was  highly  disgusted  at  this  battery, 
they  fired  forty-six  bombs  and  as  many 
shot.  On  the  other  hand,  our  several 
batteries  played  all  day  long,  and 
iired  160  bombs  besides  shot.  Lad- 
ders are  at  this  time  fitting  in  order  to 
scale  the  walls  of  the  city.  A  great 
number  of  shalloways  likewise  are 
now  fitting  in  order  to  land  men  from 
the  fleet,  or  take  up  men  in  case  a 
man-of-war  should  be  sunk  as  she 
came  into  the  harbor. 

Saturday^  15.     This  day  our  whole 
fleet   of  men-of-war,   privateers    and 


1 


'V 


!■ 

/« 


^^  ''■ 


72 


transports,  made  a  gallant  appear- 
ance before  the  harbor.  A  flag  of 
truce  came  from  the  city,  at  4  o'ciock 
in  the  afternoon,  to  our  camps,  and 
offered  to  deliver  up  the  city  on  the 
terms  we  proposed  on  our  demand  of 
the  city,  and  the  territories  thereunto 
belonging,  in  ike  name  and  on  the 
behalf  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  King 
George  the  Second.  The  considera- 
tion of  so  important  an  affair  was 
postponed  till  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  at  which  time  the  flag  of 
trnce  agreed  to  attend.  Whereupon 
all  our  batteries  ceased  firing  till  far- 
ther orders. 

Sunday^  16.  The  French  flag  of 
truce  came  out  of  the  city  to  our 
camps,  at  8  o'clock  this  morning ;  and 
it  was  then  finally  agreed  and  de- 
termined, by  capitulation,  that  the 
French  should  have  all  their  personal 
effects,  and  likewise  be  transported  to 
France  at  the  expense  of  the  English. 
The  said  articles  being  thus  settled 


i>i 


73 


ippear- 
R^g  of 
o'clock 
IS,  and 
on  the 
land  of 
sreunlo 
on  the 
I  King 
isidera- 
lir  was 
le  next 
flag   of 
jreupon 
till  far- 
flag  of 
to   our 
g;  and 
md  de- 
lat    the 
>ersonal 
>rted  to 
i^ngiish. 
settled 


&nd  cidjusted,  we  have  now  liberty  to 
march  iiiio  ir-e  city  with  our  land 
army.  The  nien-of-war  likewise,  the 
privateers  and  transports,  may  now 
without  intenaption  anchor  in  the 
harbor,  &c.,  ^c.  --iij  ii^i  :^mi^^  vnny 
MonJuy^  17.  This  day  the  French 
flag  was  struck,  and  the  English  one 
hoisted  up  in  its  place  at  the  island 
battery.  We  took  possession  early 
in  the  morning.  We  hoisted  like- 
wise the  English  flag  at  the  grand 
battery,  and  our  other  new  batteries ; 
then  fired  our  cannons,  and  gave  three 
huzzas.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Commodore  Warren,  with  all 
the  men-of-war,  as  also  the  prize 
man-of-war  of  sixty-four  guns;  our 
twenty-gun  ships;  likewise  our  snows, 
brigan tines,  privateers  and  transports, 
came  all  into  Louisburg  harbor,  which 
made  a  beautiful  appearance.  When 
all  were  safely  moored,  they  proceed- 
ed to  fire  on  such  a  victorious  and 
joyful  occasion.  About  four  o'clock 
7 


74 


m 
if 


•i)^ 


■■  "it!  ■ 

1?;- 


, 


in  the  afternoon,  our  land  army 
marched  to  the  south  gate  of  the 
city,  and  entered  th  same,  and  so 
proceeded  to  the  parade  near  the  cit- 
adel ;  the  French  troops  at  the  same 
time  being  all  drawn  up  in  a  very 
regular  order.  Our  army  received 
the  usual   salutes   from   them,  every 

^art  being  performed  v^rith  all  the  de- 
cency and  decorum  imaginable.  And 
as  the  French  were  allowed  to  carry 
oif  their  effects,  so  our  guards  took  all 

:  the  care  they  possibly  could  to  pre- 
vent the  common  soldiers  from  pilfer- 
ing  and   stealing,  or  otherwise   giv- 

'  ing  them  the  least  molestation.  The 
guard  and  watch  of  the  city,  the  gar- 
risons, &c.,  were  delivered  to  our 
troops.  .,j  .. , . 

-  Tuesday^  18.  Last  night  a  ship 
came  against  the  mouth  of  our  har- 
bor, and  lay  there  becalmed.  In  the 
morning  a  man-of-war  towed  out, 
and  fired  two  shot  at  her.  She  an- 
swered  with    one,  and  then   struck. 


75 


army 
f  the 
nd  so 
le  cit- 

same 

very 

ceived 

every 
he  de- 
And 
)  carry 
3ok  all 
o  pre- 

pilfer- 

e   giv- 

The 

he  gar- 

to   our 

a  ship 
IX  har- 
Inlhe 
id  out, 
he  an- 
struck. 


Whereupon  she  was  towed  into  the 
harbor  by  our  boats.  She  proved  to 
be  a  storeship  of  twenty  guns,  about 
300  tons,  from  France,  and  very  valu- 
able. ^.  :'.,t  if^  rf« 

iiWednesday^  19.  This  day,  upon 
the  nearest  computation  that  could  be 
made,  it  was  agreed  on  both  sides, 
that  since  the  English  had  laid  siege 
to  the  city,  &c.,  that  nine  thousand  shot 
and  six  hundred  bombs  had  been  dis- 
charged by  the  English  against  the 
French. 

Thursday^  20.  ^  The  guns  being 
moved  from  one  of  our  small  batteries 
to  the  grand  battery,  the  ambuseers 
were  levelled. 

Friday^  21.  The  guns  being  moved 
from  the  fascine  battery  into  the  city, 
the  ambuseers  were  levelled. 

Saturday^  22.  More  guns  moved 
to  the  city.  The  guns  likewise  at  the 
light-house  were  dismounted.  )>vn:u:t^- 
mi Sunday,  23.  A  sermon  preached 
at  the  grand  battery  from  the  following 


:  t 


76 


»  I: 


words  in  the  third  chapter  of  Revela- 
tions :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and 
knock :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and 
open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him, 
and  will  sup  with  him,"  &c. 

Moiidai/,  24.  Very  foggy.  We 
heard  several  guns  at  sea.  It  proved 
to  be  Captain  Rouse  from  Annapolis, 
with  three  mortars,  shells,  and  shot. 

Tuesday  J  25.  A  great  number  of 
men  were  employed  to  get  up  the  ves- 
sels which  were  sunk  in  the  harbor  by 
the  French  the  very  first  day  we 
landed.  We  are  in  hopes  they  will 
prove  valuable.  -  *  -  *  •  *  ^ 

t  Wednesday^  26.  Last  night  we  got 
off  two  French  vessels  that  had  been 
hauled  ashore.  When  our  men  got 
up,  the  vessels  sunk. '^s  ^-m^      ore 

Thursday^  27.  This  evening  sev- 
eral shallops  came  in  from  the  island 
Scatteree  with  French  inhabitants,  and 
surrendered  themselves  on  the  terms 
mentioned  in  the  capitulation  with  the 
French  in  the  city. 


77 


^'J-; 


Friday^  28.  From  this  day  to  July 
the  4th,  we  were  preparing  vessels  for 
the  transportation  of  the  French  in 
Louisburg  to  Rochport  in  France. 

July  4.  This  day  eleven  transports 
set  sail,  together  with  the  Launceston 
man-of-war,  a  forty-gun  ship,  Captain 
Man,  who  was  our  convoy  comman- 
der. 

There  were  several  occurrences 
which  were  very  remarkable  during 
the  siege.  In  the  first  place,  all  the 
houses  in  the  city  (one  only  excepted) 
had  some  shot  through  them,  more  or 
less;  some  had  their  roofanbeat  down 
with  bombs.  As  for  the  famous  cita- 
del and  hospital,  they  were  almost 
demolished  by  bombs  and  shot.  The 
next  thing  remarkable  was,  that  from 
the  first  day  we  began  the  siege  to  that 
of  our  marching  into  the  city,  it  was 
such  fine  weather,  that  we  did  not  lose 
one  single  day  in  the  prosecution  of 
our  design.  And  moreover,  that,  from 
the  17th  of  June  to  the  4th  of  July, 


H 


78 


(which  was  the  day  we  sailed  for 
France,  with  the  French  inhabitants,) 
it  either  rained  or  the  weather  was 
very  foggy.  Upon  which  a  French- 
man made  the  following  remark,  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  was  peculiarly  kind 
to  the  English,  in  sending  them  fair 
weather  during  the  whole'  siege, 
and  then  in  changing  it  to  rain  and 
fog  as  soon  as  it  was  over. — I  shall 
conclude  my  Journal  of  the  late  expe- 
dition, and  siege  against  the  city  of 
Louisburg,  and  the  territories  there- 
unto belonging,  with  the  following 
addition.  After  we  had  marched  into 
the  city,  I  waited  on  a  gentleman 
who  was  inviolably  attached  to  the 
King  of  France  in  Queen  Anne's 
War.  This  gentleman  had  taken  the 
New  England  Country  Galley;  he 
had  assisted  likewise  in  the  taking  of 
seventy  sail  of  vessels  more  on  the 
coast  of  New  England ;  and  now  in 
the  above-mentioned  siege,  he  came 
out  of  Louisburg  with  fourscore  and 


79 


seven  men,  in  order  to  prevent  our 
troops  from  landing,  but  was  happily 
beat  off.  This  gentleman,  I  say,  told 
me,  that  he  had  not  had  his  clothes 
off  his  back,  either  by  night  or  day, 
from  the  first  commencement  of  the 
siege.  He  added,  moreover,  that  in 
all  the  histories  he  had  ever  read,  he 
never  met  with  an  instance  of  so  bold 
and  presumptuous  an  attempt ;  that 
it  was  almost  impracticable,  as  any 
one  would  think,  for  3,000  or  4,000 
raw,  undisciplined  men  to  lay  siege 
to  such  a  strong,  well-fortified  city, 
such  garrisons,  batteries,  &c. ;  "  for 
should  any  one  have  asked  me,"  said 
he,  "what  number  of  men  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  have  carried 
on  that  very  enterprise,  I  should 
have  answered  no  less  than  30,000." 
To  this  he  subjoined  that  he  never 
heard  of,  or  ever  saw  such  courage 
and  intrepidity  in  such  a  handful  of 
men,  who  regarded  neither  shot  nor 
bombs ;  but  what  was  still  more  sur- 


M 


^ 


80 


prising  than  all  the  rest,  he  said,  was 
this,  namely,  to  see  batteries  raised  in 
a  night's  time ;  and  more  particularly 
the  fascine  battery,  which  was  not 
five  and  twenty  roods  from  the  city 
wall ;  and  to  see  guns,  that  were  forty- 
two  pounders,  dragged  by  the  Eng- 
lish from  their  grand  battery,  notwith- 
standing it  was  two  miles  distant  at 
least,  and  the  road  too  very  rough. 
May  courage,  resolution,  life,  and  vig- 
or, be  for  ever  conspicuous  in  all  our 
English  officers  and  soldiers  !  for  vic- 
tory, under  God,  depends  principally 
on  their  care  and  conduct :  and  may 
the  example  of  the  above-named 
French  captain  animate  us  to  be 
bold  and  daring  in  a  just  cause !  In 
a  word,  may  it  induce  us  faithfully  to 
discharge  the  great,  the  important 
trust  reposed  in  us,  by  virtue  of  the 
commissions  which  we  bear  under 
our  most  gracious  Sovereign  Lord 
King  George ! 

Should  this  be  the  happy  effect  of 


81 


was 
ed  in 

larlv 
not 


ihat  gentleman's  example,  then  we 
may  daily  expect  to  make  large  addi- 
tions to  his  majesty's  dominions ; 
then  we  may  hope,  with  just  grounds, 
to  defeat  the  common  disturber  of  our 
peace  and  tranquillity;  to  humble  his 
pride,  and  make  him  tributary  to  us ; 
then,  in  short,  we  may  reasonably  ex- 
pect to  see  halcyon  days  throughout 
his  majesty's  extensive  dominions, 
and  secure  our  most  excellent  consti- 
tution both  in  church  and  state. 

In  order  to  give  our  readers  a  tran- 
sient idea  of  the  ill-treatment  we  met 
with  at  Eochefort  in  France,  I  shall 
here  take  the  liberty,  not  only  to  tran- 
scribe a  letter  which  I  wrote  on  that 
subject  to  an  intimate  friend,  but  the 
petition  which  twelve  of  us,  in  behalf 
of  ourselves  and  fellow-sufferers, 
signed,  and  sent  in  the  most  submis- 
sive manner  to  Commodore  MacLe- 
marrough,  who,  like  an  inhuman  sav- 
age, turned  a  deaf  ear  to  our  com- 
plaints, and  rather  added  to  our  mise- 


ries than  an 


y  ways  reliev 


ed  us. 


J 


82 


^y  ! 


frv- 


[The  Copy  of  the  Letter,] 

Honored  Sir,— Pursuant  to  your 
request,  I  here  give  you  a  true  and 
impartial  account  of  the  cruel  and 
barbarous  treatment  which  we  met 
with  from  the  French  at  Rochfort  in 
France.  n^_,  .".  j  •>   -  ^.-r  v>^:i 

On  the  fourth  of  July  last,  fourteen 
cartels,  with  the  Launceston  man-of- 
war,  set  sail  from  Louisburg  at  Cape 
Breton,  for  France,  with  French  in- 
habitants. No  sooner  were  we  ar- 
rived in  the  roadstead  of  Rochfort, 
but  Commodore  McLemarrough,  in  a 
ship  of  seventy-four  guns,  obliged  us 
to  come  to,  under  his  stern,  in  thir- 
teen fathom  of  water.  We  obeyed, 
and  showed  our  passports,  which 
when  he  had  read,  he  insisted  that 
every  master  should  deliver  into  his 
hands  his  particular  journal.  Some 
looking  on  it  as  an  unreasonable  de- 
mand, with  resolution  o;jposed  it,  but 


were 
their 

Sme  o 
ingly 
he  a 


greei 

my 

whic 

Hav 

liver 

the  r 

terni 

nof 

my 

crea 

pass 

bus 

est 

Loi 

any| 

leas 

I  h 

me 

me 

am 


83 


N*  :  ' 


your 

and 

and 

met 

ort  in 

irteen 
an-of- 
Cape 
ch  in- 
/^e  ar- 
ehfort, 
h,  in  a 
jed  us 
1  thir- 
)eyed, 
which 
I  that 
\o  his 
Some 
le  de- 
Lt,  but 


were  confined  in  irons  on  his  ship  for 
their  refusal.  Soon  after,  he  sent  for 
me  on  board ;  and  I  attended  accord- 
ingly. Being  admitted  into  the  cabin, 
he  ordered  me  to  sit  down  at  his 
green  table,  and  give  an  account  of 
my  own  proceedings  in  writing; 
which  orders  I  readily  complied  with. 
Having  finished  my  declaration,  I  de- 
livered it  into  his  hands;  and  upon 
the  receipt  of  it,  he  told  me  in  direct 
terms,  that  the  cartels  could  expect 
no  favor  at  Rochport;  and  that,  as  for 
my  own  particular  part,  since  he  was 
credibly  informed  by  several  of  the 
passengers,  that  I  had  been  a  very 
busy,  active  fellow  against  the  inter- 
est of  his  most  Christian  Majesty  at 
Louisburg,  in  case  he  could  find  out 
any  article  whatever  that  was  in  the 
least  contradictory  to  the  declaration 
I  had  delivered,  that  he  would  send 
me  to  the  tower.  Whereupon  he  im- 
mediately sent  on  board  for  my  trunk, 
and  insisted   on  my  giving  him  the 


% 


84 


key.  I  did,  and  he  took  out  all  my 
papers,  and  read  them  o^'er  in  the 
first  place.  After  thai,  he  broke 
open  the  letters  which  I  had  directed 
for  London.  Those,  indeed,  he  sealed 
up  again,  and,  having  put  them  into 
the  trunk,  dismissed  me.  His  next 
orders  were,  that  the  cartels  should 
not  presume  to  go  on  board  their 
convoy,  the  Launceston,  on  any  pre- 
tence whatever,  without  his  permis- 
sion. He  charged  us  likewise  not  to 
go  on  shore,  and  gave  strict  orders 
to  the  garrison  to  watch  us  night  and 
day  ;  and,  in  case  any  of  us  attempted 
to  set  foot  on  shore,  the  guards  were 
directed  to  shoot  us  without  asking 
any  questions  about  the  matter.  His 
severity,  in  short,  extended  so  far  as 
not  to  permit  a  boat  to  bring  us  the 
least  supply  of  any  nature  or  kind 
whatsoever;  insomuch  that  we  were 
obliged  to  live  wholly  on  salt  pro- 
visions, and  drink  water  that  was  ro- 
py, and  very  offensive  to  the   smell, 


85 


1  my 
|n  the 
[broke 
ected 
sealed 
into 
next 
hould 
their 
jrpre- 
?rmi8- 
not  to 
orders 
It  and 
upted 
were 
isking 
His 
'ar  as 
IS  the 
kind 
were 
pro- 
as ro- 
jmell, 


for  above  six  weeks  successively. 
When  this  cruel  commodore  set  sail 
with  his  fleet,  with  about  two  hund- 
red sail  of  merchantmen  and  seven 
men-of-war  for  Hispaniola,  another 
commodore  supplied  his  place.  On 
Sunday  eve  he  sent  out  a  yawl,  with 
orders  for  all  the  cartels  to  unbend  their 
sa::~  We  did  as  directed,  and  on 
Monday  morning  his  men  came  in 
their  long-boat,  and  carried  all  our 
saison  shore  into  the  garrison ;  which 
surprised  us  to  the  last  degree,  as  we 
had  been  detained  so  long,  and  lived 
in  expectation  of  oar  passports  every 
day.  At  this  unhappy  juncture,  Capt. 
Robert  Man,  who  was  commander  of 
the  Launceston,  was  taken  violently 
ill  of  a  fever;  and  notwithstanding 
intercession  was  made  that  he  might 
be  removed  on  shore,  as  the  noise  on 
board  affected  his  head  too  much,  yet 
the  favor  was  inhumanly  denied  him; 
and  every  officer  in  the  ship  besides. 
As   to   the    poor   English   prisoners, 


86 


■V  r 


1 


they  were  used  in  a  most  barbarous 
manner;  for  their  principal  food  was 
horse-beans,  and  about  an  inch  of 
beef  or.ce  in  about  twenty-four  hours. 
BesiHco,  they  were  so  close  impris- 
onec  *;  at  some  of  them  fainted  away 
foi  want  of  air;  and  had  it  not  been 
fc  ihe  private  charitable  relief  which 
they  .eived  from  a  good  old  Protes- 
tant iudy,  seveial  of  them  must  have 
been  actually  starved.  Nay,  more- 
over, when  any  of  them  were  sick, 
she  would  visit  them,  and  bring  them 
prayer-books,  and  other  books  of  de- 
votion, which  she  concealed  in  a  chest 
under  ground ;  and  then  would  exhort 
them  to  put  their  trust  and  confidence 
in  God,  who  in  his  own  due  time 
would  deliver  them  out  of  the  hands 
of  their  arbitrai'v  and  blood-thirst^ 


en- 


emies. And  if  any  d.ed,  she  would 
send  coffins  privately  by  night  for  the 
removal    of    their    bodies,  and    bury 

expense.     One  of 


them  at  her  own 

these   poor  wretches  was   in 


such 


a 


m 


Q7 


►arous 
fd  was 
ich   of 
I  hours, 
rripris- 
away 
t  been 
which 
^rotes- 
t  have 
more- 
sick, 
%  them 
of  de- 
a  chest 
exhort 
Sdence 
3   time 
hands 
sty  en- 
would 
foi  the 
bury 
)ne  of 
mch  a 


weak  and  sickly  condition,  that,  being 
thirsty,  and  inclining  his  head  to  drink 
out  of  a  stone  font,  he  had  not  strength 
to  raise  it  again,  and  by  that  means 
was  unhappily  strangled.  All,  in 
Hoort,  that  lived  to  come  on  board, 
were  so  weak  that  they  could  scarce 
crawl  upon  the  deck.  As  our  treat- 
ment from  the  French  was  in  every 
respect  so  cruel  and  iniiuman,  a  peti- 
tion or  remonstrance  to  Commodore 
MacLernarrough  was  drawn  up, 
and  signed  on  the  25th  of  August, 
1745,  by  twelve  of  us ;  the  purport 
whereof  was  as  follows  : 

That  the  petitioners  were  taken 
up  at  the  city  of  Louisburg,  in  his 
Britannic  Majesty's  service  on  the 
20th  of  June  then  last  pas^  in  order  to 
transport  the  French  inhabitants  of 
that  fdty  to  Rochfort. 

That  the  petitioners  were  well  as- 
sured by  General  Pepperill  and  Com- 
modore Warren,  as  also  by  the  com- 


88 


manding  officer  of  Louisburg,  that, 
aa  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  were 
so  generous,  in  regard  to  the  inhabi- 
tants, that  there  was  no  doubt  to  be 
made  of  their  meeting  with  a  like 
generous  treatment  in  France,  and 
that  the  petitioners  would  be  dis- 
patched to  England  without  delay. 

That  the  petitioners  had  been  ar- 
rived above  twenty  days,  and  that 
they  and  their  men  suffered  very  se- 
verely for  want  of  fresh  provisions ; 
and  that  great  numbers  of  them  lay 
sick;  and  that  the  cause,  as  they  hum- 
bly conceived,  was  their  living  on  salt 
provisions  entirely,  and  drinking  noth- 
ing but  ropy  water  that  was  noisome 
to  the  smell.  ;;  j  n  uii:> 

.'  That  the  petitioners  had  been  de- 
nied all  manner  of  supplies  for  their 
vessels,  though  never  so  absolutely 
necessary.  That,  if  the  petitioners 
had  leave  to  sail  directly  for  England, 
it  would  be  some  considerable  time 


S( 

hi 


89 


Jen  de- 
)r  their 

lolutelv 
i  doners 
igland, 
e  lime 


before  they  conld  be  dispatched  from 
thence. 

Thatf  as  the  petitioners'  return  to 
New  England  would  at  best  be  very 
late  in  the  year,  and  their  voyage  by 
consequence  very  cold,  comfortless, 
and  dangerous,  every  day  was  very 
valuable  to  them  ;  and  besides,  that 
their  being  detained  so  long  was  very 
expensive. 

.  The  petitioners  therefore  prayed, 
that  his  honor  would  take  the  pre- 
mises and  their  unhappy  sufferings 
into  his  serious  consideration,  and 
order  such  relief,  in  regard  to  their 
provision,  necessaries  for  their  ves- 
sels, and  their  speedy  dispatch,  as  to 
his  honor  should  seem  most  meet.  '^'^ 
"^^  Instead,  however,  of  meeting  with 
any  favor  or  indulgence,  by  virtue 
of  the  above  petition,  all  the  cartels 
were  ordered  to  unbend  their  sails; 
their  sails  were  carried  on  shore  into 
the  garrisons,  and  the  guards  directed 

8 


i: 


90 


( 


#^ 


|! 


M. 


r'^ 


Hi 


to   Bhoot  every  Englishman   that  at- 
tempted to  go  on  shore,  wilhoat  ask- 
ing any  questions  whatsoever,, ..j'ii 
y.  lam,  bir,  -      ^     r:  ^^^^ 

(ii  '^^^^^^  most  humble  servant,     ;j,| 
p;>nfri/  James  Gibson... 


VT) 


The  news  of  this  victory  arrived  at 
Boston  on  the  third  of  July.  The 
effects  it  produced  are  well  described 
in  a  letter  from  Pr.  Chaney  to  Gen. 
Pepperell.  He  snyii:  "  The  people 
of  Boston  before  sun-rise  were  as 
thick  in  the  streets  as  on  election  day, 
and  a  pleasing  joy  visibly  sat  on  every 
countenance." — 'We  had  last  night 
the  finest  illumination  I  ever  wit- 
nessed. There  was  not  a  house  in 
town,  in  by-way,  lane,  or  alley,  but 
joy  might  be  seen  in  its  windows. 
The  night  was  also  made  joyful  by 
bonfires,  fireworks,  and  other  tokens 
of  rejoicing.     Besides  this,  an  enter- 


fl- 


at at- 
t  ask- 


;'n 


-•[ 

ION. 

J 

in/ 

r  . 

1 . 

ved  at 

The 

cribed 

Gen. 

3eople 

?re   as 

1  day, 

every 

night 
•  wit- 
ise  in 
y^,  but 
dows. 
ul  by 
okens 
enter- 


tainment was  given  to  the  people.^ 
The  18th  of  July  was  observed 
through  the  Commonwealth  as  a  day 
of  thanksgiving  for  this  event ;  and  it 
was  universally  observed  in  a  manner 
becoming  a  people  who  saw  in  it  the 
hand  of  an  over-ruling  Providence." 

Dr.  Prince  preached  a  sermon  on 
that  occasion  at  the  "  Old  South 
Church,"  which  exhibits  more  freely 
than  any  other  the  religious  feeling 
of  those  engaged  in  it.  "  When  they 
embarked,"  he  tells  us,  "their  lan- 
guage to  their  friends  whom  they 
were  about  leaving  was :  *  Pray  for 
W5,  and  we  will  fight  for  you  ! ' "  '"'::.: 

After  narrating  the  most  remarka- 
ble events  in  the  enterprise,  he  con- 
cludes in  this  somewhat  extravagant 
language :  "  Let  us  not  only  rejoice 
in  our  own  salvation,  but  let  our  joy 
rise  higher,  that  hereby  a  great  sup- 
port of  anti-christian  power  is  taken 
away,  and  the  visible  kingdom  of 
Christ  enlarged.     Methinks  when  the 


''^-..■.  TfiTj5ri'i 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


I^|2j8   mzs 

■50  ■^"  mH 

mm  f^ 

g   U&    120 


IL25  III  1.4 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporalion 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRilT 

WiBSTIR.N.Y.  14SI0 

(716)872-4303 


^ 


^ 


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93 


southern  gates  of  Ijouisburg  were 
opened,  and  our  army  with  their  baiir 
ners  were  marching  in  ~- the  g^teS; 
were  lifted  up,  and  the  King  of  ^ry 
went  in  with  them."  /  ,r  \.r.r* 

On  returnmg  to  Boston,  Janl^s 
Gibson  was  joyfully  received  by  his 
little  family,  and  the  citizens  gefie- 
rally,  to  whom  he  had  rendered  SQ 
important  services.  At  the  close  ot 
the  siegCy  the  treasury  of  the  proy^ 
III  ince  of  Massachusetts  was  completely 
exhausted.  Epgland,  on  hearing  of 
the  service  rendered  by  the  colonieSi 
sent  on  a  ship  laden  with  specie  to 
reimburse  the  expenses  of  the  siege. 
The  rate  of  indemnities  was  thus  ex- 
pressed in  a  resolution  passeic|l  \^  P^^t 
liament,  April  1,  I748 :— ^^  ^.-  ^;.;i3,;}^ 


Resolved,  1st,  That  it  is  just  an4 
reasonable  that  the  several  provinces 
and  coloi^ies  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  a^a 
Ehode  Island,  be  reimbursed  the  exr 


1 1 


eX' 


93 


ptoses  they  have  been  at,  in  taking 
and  securing  to  the  crown  of  Great 
Bi:itain,  the  island  of  Cape  Breton 
an<)  it^  dependencies;  therefore,  re- 
solved to  grant  for  this  purpose, — ^      * 

2d,,  "Jo  the  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts B^y,  £183,649.  2^.  "i^.         '"^^r 

$4  To  that  of  New  Hampshireu 
£16,355. 135.  4d.        ^\  '  -  Tj  Cn|,,,-i 

4th,  To  that  of  Connecticut,  £28,- 
863. 195.  !(/.     '^   '" 

5ih,  To  that  of  Rhode  Island,  £6,332. 
125.  lOd 

6lh,  To  James  Gibson,  Esq.,  on 
ditto  account,  £547.  15*. 

The  amount  due  Massachusetts 
sfnd  New  Hampshire  was  all  paid  at 
pne  time,  in  silver  and  copper,  there 
being  sent  over  215  chests  of  silver 
and  100  of  copper.  This  was  a  great 
relief  to  the  treasuries  of  the  colonies. 

But  the  amount  allowed  by  Parlia- 
ment to  James  Gibson  was  not  paid 
with  the  other  reimbursements,  and 


94 


i 


Vr^ 


\   ! 


'i 


• 


"behave  no  evidence  that  it  nas  eveir 
been  paid  to  this  day.  ;    "'    -  ^ 

The  inhabitants  of  the  colonies  ex- 
pected, that,  for  their  distinguished 
services,  the  officers  in  thi^  siege 
would  be  noticed  and  rewarded  by 
the  crown.  But  in  all  this  they  were 
disappointed ;  the  order  of  khighthopd 
conferred  on  Gen.  Pepperellwas  all 
the  mark  of  distinction  received  from 
the  English  government.  •''}  ■''^''  * '•^' 

The  amount  sent  over  to  the  colo- 
nies fell  far  below  the  actual  expense, 
which  is  .said  to  have  amounted  to 
£500,000  sterling.  The  English  re- 
ceived  three  times  this  amount  from 
the  French  taken  at  Louisburg. 

When  Mr.  Gibson  was  in  Londoti 
on  his  return  from  France,  he  left  a 
bill  of  the  amount  which  he  had  actu- 
ally given  from  his  own  purse  for  the 
expedition,  which  amounted  to  d£547. 

K  In  volume  18  and  on  page  223  of 
the   Gentleman's    Magazine,  we  find 


las  ever 

lies  ex- 
ruished 
siege 
Jded  by 
jy  were 
i;hthopd 
was  all 
3d  from 

le  colo- 
'xpense, 
inted  to 
jlish  re- 
nt from 

t».  -  ; 

LionddnJ 
e  left  a 
id  aetu- 
:  for  the 
o£547. 

223  of 
ive  find 


9$ 


in  a  report  of  the  proceedings  of  Par- 
liament the  following  sta  .;ment:— • 
J  ,  "  To  show  the  sense  of  the  House 
of  Cpipmons  in  it,  he  gives  the  ex- 
penses of  taking  Louisburg,  and  ex- 
plains the   artime  of  d£547  voted  to 
Jannes  Gibson,  Esq.)  who  sought  no  \ 
reward  for  his  services   but  a  small 
office,  vacant  in  one   of  our   planta- 
tions.    But  it  was  given  to  a  domes- 
tic of  the   king,   under   whom    IVIr. 
Gibson  might  have  enjoyed  it ;  but  he  , 
refused  the  favor  of  serving  under  His  ". 
Grace's  serving-man."  '  V "  '"^    ] 

After  his  return  to  Boston,  Mr.  Gib-  . 
son  again  resumed  his  business,  in 
which    l^e    continued   several   years. 
During  this  time,  he  occasionally  went  | 
to  the  vVest  Indies. 

A  man  in  the  Island  of  Jamaica 
had  been  the  occasion  of  heavy  losses 
in  property  to  Mr.  Gibson.  He  thei-e- 
fore  was  obliged  to  leave  his  family  . 
in  Boston,  and  go  out  to  settle  his  af- 
fairs in  the  West  Indies.     With  this 


n- 


^ 


lii  ii  ■ 


■1' 


man  Air.  G.  tikd  some  cofMon;  btit 
on  the  day  he  was  to  have  ffcstiihied 
to  America,  h6  eariie  foit^ard,  and, 
acknowledging  he  had  dbtie  hith 
much  injustice,  promised  a  sati^Fae- 
tory  adiustmeht,  and  With  Artful  dis- 
simulation invited  him  to  dine  with 
him.  The  invitation  was  accepted  by 
the  forgiving  Gibson.  He  went  to 
dinner,  and  immediately  af\er  set  sail 
for  the  north,  when  in  ttiree  houirs  he 
was  suddenly  taken  ill,  auB,  in  great 
agony,  died.  Suspicions  were  in- 
stantly entertained  that  he  was  poi- 
soned at  the  dinner. 

•The  stroke  was  too  severe  for  his 
'afflicted  widow,  Who  soon  died  of 
jgrief,  leaving  her  young  artd  lovely 
daughter  alone  witliout  a  relation  in 
Massachusetts.  The  eV^ttt  of  her 
death  was  recorded  in  the  records  of 
King's  Chapel  in  Boston,  where  She 
had  long  been  a  member,  as  occur- 
ring on  the  13th  of  Novetnber,  1752. 
A  portrait  of  Mr.  GibSon  is  Still  in 


n;  but 

ittihi6d 

>  and, 

|e   hith 

bl  did- 
e  with 
|pted  by 
eAt  to 
set  sail 
outs  he 
in  great 
7ere  in- 
(ras  poi- 

fdr  his 
died  of 
I  lovely 
atioh  in 

of  her 
jords  of 
lere  ^he 
5  occtir- 
t,  1762. 
^till  in 


97 


the  possession  of  his  descendants,  set 
in  a  curiously  carved  and  gilded  frame 
of  expensive  workmanship.  Also, 
his  coat  of  arms,  presented  to  J.  Gib- 
son as  a  memento  of  respect  and  af* 
fection  by  Bishop  Gibson,  with  the 
autograph  of  the  Bishop  on  the  re- 
verse of  the  picture.  The  device  em- 
braces a  view  of  land  and  sky,  with 
three  storks  risking  on  the  wing,  and  a 
crest  from  a  ducal  coronet 

By  the  death  of  her  parents,  Mary 
Gibson  was  left  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
an  orphan,  without  any  protection  but 
such   as   the  law  provides    in   such 

CaseS*:^-^   :;^-,--..;    .)'jk..i.-,i,.i  j.iii*,; 

A  mkifi  by  the  name  of  Butler  was 
appointed  her  guardian,  upon  whom 
the  settlement  of  the  property  de- 
volved.    '*»♦     **>     i'JiJ  lit  JiH   fi   i;viiisi''rt744   hitii 

This  person  placed  Mary  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Niles  of  Brain- 
tree,  with  whom  he  made  an  agree- 
ment that  she  should  receive  a  good 

^ni«4w    i    9     ytiii\'Hmu}     nBUi\'i^^n 


1 


t 


I 


I 


13! 


I'  I'.  1 


ifij 

in 


98 


educatfdn,  and  left  funds  in  his  hands 

for  thii  purpose.,  irrniy:^^i>:in>;iv^^  n  ttl 

,f.  It  was  most  providential  for  Mary, 
that  she  was  thus  placed  under  the 
guidance  of  so  excellent  a  man. 
ft  Having  thus  disposed  of  the  young 
orphan,  Butler  returned  to  manage 
the  property,  of  which  she  was  the 
billy  heir,  in  a  manner  suited  to  his 
corrupt  and  fraudulent  designs. 

The  laws  of  probate  in  the  infant 
colonies  being  slightly  managed  at 
that  time,  Butler  rendered  the  estate 
of  Gibson  insolvent !         '  ^f 

While  a  member  of  Mr.  Niles's 
family,  Mary  imbibed  those  religious 
principles  which  ever  after  influenced 
her  life.  She  was  early  united  to  a 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Hayden, 
and  became  a  member  of  the  church 
at  Braintree. 

She  lost  her  husband,  however,  a 
short  time  after  her  marriage. 

She  was  subsequently  united  to 
Nehemiah    Blanchard,  and    became 


the  mother  of  three  daughters.  Her 
husband  made  great  exertions  to  obv 
tain  a  portion  pf  the  property  so  frau- 
dulently disposed  of  by  her  guardian 
Butler,  vf  <aH!J  hi-  i>f.  ,r 

This  man  seemed  to  be  followed 
by  the  judgment  of  God,  and  when 
thrown  into  jail  for  some  crime,  sent 
for  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Blancbard,  and^ 
while  suffering  much  mental  remorse^ 
confessed  he  had  robbed  her ;  at  the 
same  time  delivering  to  her  certain 
papers,  relating  to  her  father's  prop- 
erty, some  of  which  was  in  lands  ly- 
ing in  a  place  then  called  Stroud- 
water,  near  Portland,  Maine,  and 
other  lands  in  Maine.  These  papers 
are  still  extant. 

Mr.  Blanchard  made  a  journey  to 
the  province  of  Maine,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  value  of  a 
tract  of  land  owned  by  Mr.  Gibson. 
But  while  attempting  to  cross  the 
Kennebec  River  on  the  ice,  in  the 
spring  time  of  the  year,  he  fell  into  an 


100 


I' 


11 


b-'    i 


air-hole  in  the  river,  and  was  drowned. 
His  valise  was  found  on  the  ice,  near 
the  spot  where  he  disappeared. 

Mrs.  Blanchard,  disheartened  at  the 
loss  of  her  husband  in  this  unhappy 
manner,  and  so  unfortunate  in  obtain- 
ing any  portion  of  her  father's  estate, 
desisted  from  any  further  attempt  to 
recover  it;  trusting  herself  in  the  kind 
care  of  the  widow's  God,  never  after- 
ward attempting  to  make  use  of  the 
papers  in  her  possession.  .i-m  Hmtmr-^ 
•»<  A  third  time  was  she  united  in 
man^iage,  to  Dr.  Carter,  and  removed 
to  Charlestown,  to  lay  in  the  grave 
her  third  husband!  J<f^'^  v*  ^ff  ,v>*r-rf 
^»  She  spent  most  of  the  remainder  of 
her  life  with  her  daughter ;  and  after 
having  endured  the  trying  fortunes  of 
a  varied  life,  with  a  firm  and  un- 
changing reliance  in  the  wise  and 
good  Director  of  the  Univpr:<e,  she 
died  universally  esteemed,  in  the 
eighty-eighih  year  of  her  age,  in  Ban- 
gor, New  York.  ,. 


|ned» 
lear 


1* 


101 

The  Ron-in-law  of  this  lady,  who  is 
now  living  and  eighty-four  years  of 
age,  afiirmH  that,  in  the  year  1790,  he 
found  on  the  leaf  of  an  old  magazine, 
which  was  sent  to  the  widow  Mrs. 
Blanehard,  an  advertisement,  author- 
ized by  the  British  Parliament,  stat- 
ing that,  if  there  were  any  heirs  of 
James  Gibson,  Esq.,  in  the  United 
States,  the  British  government  had 
money  for  them,  awaiting  their  plea- 
sure. 

The  gentleman  above  alluded  to, 
residing  in  the  State  of  Vermont, 
commenced  preparations  for  going  to 
England,  and  endeavoring  to  recover 
the  debt  so  rightfully  due  to  James 
Gibson.  But  for  want  of  means  at 
the  time,  he  gave  it  up,  and  it  has  been 
suffered  to  lie  dormant  ever  since.^ 

*  This  gentleman,  son-in-law  to  the  only  heir 
of  James  Gibson,  says  that  there  resided  a  family 
in  Boston  by  the  name  of  Perkins,  members  of 
the  Old  South  Church  in  that  city,  who  knew 
more  than  any  one  in  America  of  the  history  of 


"••3#W. 


,1 


ii 


102 

• 

Jamei  Gibson.  With  the  hope  of  finding  r 
more  complete  account  of  his  life  than  that  now 
in  our  possession,  we  have  endeatored  to  find  the 
descendants  of  such  a  family  \  but  all  these  efforts 
have  hitherto  been  fruitless.  Should  the  peru- 
sal of  this  little  sketch  be  the  occasion  of  re- 
covering any  information  that  would  add  a  sin- 
gle historical  fact  to  the  incidents  here  narrated, 
the  descendants  would  be  greatly  obliged.  Any 
such  communication  addressed  through  the  Bos- 
ton Post  OAce,  would  reach  them  directed  to 


can 


nding  ^ 
at  now 
find  th« 
le  efibrto 
e  perii- 
n  of  re- 
Id  a  sin- 
larrated, 
d.    Any 
the  Bofl- 
rected  to 


Memoria  Technica; 


Or 


r.  the  Art  of  Abbreviating  thoro  Studies  which  give 
the  greatest  labor  to  the  Memory ;  iucluding  Nuni' 
bers,  Historical  Dated,  Cuo^rraphy.  Astronomy,  Gravi- 
ties, &c. ;  also,  Rules  ibr  Memoriziug  Technicalities. 
Nomenclatures,  Vrouer  Barnes,  Prose,  Poetry,  ana 
Topics  in  oeneral.  Embracing  all  the  available  Rules 
found  in  Mnemonics  or  Mnemoteohny,  of  Ancient 
and  Modern  Times.  To  which  is  added  a  Perpetual 
Almanac  for  Two  Thousand  Yeara  of  I'ast  Time  and 
Time  to  Come.  Adapted  to  the  use  of  Schools  —  to 
be  used  as  an  aid  to  the  studies  of  History,  Geogra- 
&C.&C.    By  Lorenzo  D.  Johnson.    Second  edi* 


ion,  revised  and  improved.    Price,  tifty  cents. 


In  presenting  to  the  public  the  "MmoRU  Technica," 
which,  In  some  respects,  may  be  said  to  contain  a  new 
theonr  of  instruction,  the  puDlishers  beg  leave  to  direct 
attention  to  some  of  its  peculiarities. 

It  is  the  first  work  of  the  Icind  which  has  ever  been 
prepared  for  the  use  of  Schools;  although  it  is  true 
tliat  Whclpley  and  Worcester,  in  preparing  their  Com- 
pends  of  universal  History,  (for  the  want  of  something 
oetter,)  introduced  an  abstract  of  Gray's  System  of 
Mnemonics,  which,  like  Gouraud's,  relates  only  to  the 
memory  oiJigure$. 

Heretofore,  the  profe«8ors  of  Mnemonics,  instead  of 
directing  their  enocts  to  promote  general  education, 
have  reserved  to  themselves  the  privilege  of  explaining 
the  bases  of  their  systems  by  public  lecturer,  and  to  H".- 
lect  classes  at  charges  quite  exorbitant.  This  work  is 
so  arranged  and  simplilied,  that  every  school  teacher 
may  himself  become  ''  Protessor  "  of  all  the  Mnemonics 
that  can  be  made  available  to  the  pu]iils  under  his  care. 

The  Figure  Alphabet  is  aleo  so  constructed  that  no  one 
can  thoroughly  learn  it  without  becoming  familiar  with 


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the  analysefl  of  sounds  and  articulations,  aa  taught  by 
the  most  distingulslied  Professors. 

Thin  work  is  not  intended  to  take  the  piace  of  any 
school  book  now  in  use,  nor  is  the  system  calculated  to 
supersede  any  study  now  pursued  in  schools,  but  intro- 
duced as  an  auxilary  to  them  alt. 

As  a  demonstrati*  n  of  the  wonderAiI  aid  to  the  mem> 
ory  which  may  be  derived  from  a  knowledge  of  this 
system,  it  is  only  necessary  to  give  the  result  in  the  case 
of  a  boy,  now  fourteen  years  of  age,  i  who  has  been  em- 
ployed most  of  his  days  in  a  Cotton  Factory,)  uu  a 
specimen  of  what  others  who  study  the  svstem  mav  ac- 
complish. This  lad  lias  frequently,  in  public  assetnDlies, 
and  will  at  any  time*  on  being  called  upon,  answer 
more  than  six  thousand  questions  where  the  answers 
are  contained  in  figures,  embracing  topics  in  History, 
Geography,  Astronomv,  the  dates  of  Discoveries  and 
Improvements,  and  in  Biography. 

In  BoTANT,  he  will  give  the  tlofs  and  order  of  any 
on^  of  160  plants  J  according  to  Linrueus,  and  the  senti- 
ment assigned  to  it  in  the  Language  of  Flowo'S. 

MEMoar  He  will  commit  as  many  names  of  a  mis- 
cellaneous audience  as  any  one  may  please  to  call  off  to 
him,  and  will  rehearse  tliem  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  given,  or  at  random,  when  the  number  of  the  name 
is  given. 

The  work  contains  a  vast  amount  of  important  infor- 
maiion  ;  which,  aside  from  its  value  as  a  system  of  in- 
struction, renders  it,  as  has  been  Justly  said  bv  manv 
who  have  examined  it,  well  worth  the  price  of  the  work 
as  a  mere  book  of  reference. 

GOULD,  KENDALL  fc  LINCOLN,  PDBUSHms, 

59  Washington  iitreet. 

'if. 

The  Memoria  Technica  is  already  introduced,  as  a 
text-book,  into  several  of  the  Boston  Schools.       ,t  ^v^ii 


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